JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Pastors, city leaders and the loved ones of Sunday night's mass shooting victims are urging the community to unite to stop the violence after two women and an 11-month-old baby were gunned down in Northwest Jacksonville.
“We are not going to sleep on this. We cannot continue to go down this path,” City Councilman Reggie Brown said Tuesday, standing a few feet from where 11-month-old Tedashii Williams, his mother, 22-year-old Kadejah Williams, and 18-year-old Xacia Burnem were shot and killed Sunday.
Wilma Alexander, Kadejah's grandmother, said she can only hope for an arrest.
“The ones who have seen things and know things, don’t hold back,” Alexander said. “I don’t see how you could live with yourself holding back, and I am not just speaking about my granddaughter and great-grandbaby. I am speaking to all of the victims.”
Earlier in the day, several pastors from the Baptist Ministers Conference joined loved ones of the victims to make a similar plea.
"We have to end the cycle," said Darryl Edwards of Greater Bethany Baptist Church. "Somebody has to take the first step and say, 'Enough is enough.'"
Another woman and a man were wounded in the mass shooting near the Cleveland Arms Apartments and remain hospitalized at UF Health Jacksonville.
Doris Russell, with the Cleveland Arms Tenant Association, said residents in the area live in fear.
“That's the sad part about it,” Russell said. “(They're in fear of) gunshots, afraid of losing their apartment, afraid someone might shoot their car or their apartment up.”
The pastors said Tuesday that the community needs a greater police presence to help overcome that fear, but they also know the community needs to help the police solve violent crimes
That's a message echoed by Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams.
"We still have tips coming in. We encourage people to call," Sheriff Williams said. "We will, at some point, describe what we believed happened. Right now, it's important for us not to put too much information out. We want to make sure the witnesses (that) will come forward have an accurate account. So when the time is appropriate, we'll lay it out there."
Russell said it's positive to see community leaders trying to affect change, but more needs to be done to help the community.
“I want to see you out here helping the tenant association,” she said. “Getting some programs and putting some feet on the ground. Knock on the door.”
City Council members said they will be focused on communities with high crime by implementing shot spotters and reassessing community needs.
Another message the pastors conveyed was that the churches that serve the community will be a safe haven for people with information on who the shooter or shooters are, so they can be confident they can share information without being identified.
"Our churches stand ready to provide spiritual support. If anyone has any information, please speak up, so we can bring closure to this situation," Edwards said. “Just imagine if it was you going through this situation. Just imagine if there was a loss of life in your family. You would want somebody to speak out and let you know what's going on so you can have closure.”
Pamela Williams, Xacia's mother, said she was watching the news Tuesday morning when her 2-year-old grandson, Antonio, saw Xacia's picture on television. When he asked to see his aunt, Williams said she started to cry, because she didn't know how to tell Antonio that his aunt had died.
Pamela Williams has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral expenses.
So far, no arrests have been made in the shooting.
Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
