A prayer vigil in Lima was held on Thursday, calling for an end to violence and a return to unity.
It comes as the community deals with a pair of shootings in the past seven days, that police say may have been tied together. Thursday’s community prayer was led by the Rev. Ron Fails, who talked about the need to consider the damage done by such violence, as well as the harm done to the lives of all those involved. He said it affects not just the victim, but their families and the families of the people behind the hurt inflicted on others. He called on everyone to stop and to think before committing violence. The president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Association organized the event, and she says she witnessed what happened during the shooting outside of Sheryl’s last weekend.
“I watched a mother not be able to go over to her child, and it was heartbreaking and all I can think of is that I’ve been trying to do things and advocate for the kids in my neighborhood association, and it just came on my heart to do this,” said Denise James, president of the MLK Jr. Neighborhood Association.
“There’s been so much with the youth with violence and guns and things like that, and we’ve been doing this just about eight years now,” said Onedia Cobb, president of fundraising for the MLK Jr. Neighborhood Association. “This just really touched our hearts we thought that the kids are our future, and it’s time for us to take action.”
James says they hope to continue to have events for area youth that give them encouragement and support.
