JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – More than 100,000 people are killed or injured by gunfire in the United States each year.
It is the leading cause of death for children between 1 and 19 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To remember the victims and survivors, the first Friday of June is known as National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
It coincides with the Wear Orange campaign, which runs through the weekend.
There are several events planned to draw attention to the issue.
One of them is happening at the intersection of Edgewood and Commonwealth avenues from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday.
The group Quench The Violence is leading the demonstration and wants its message to be heard and seen.
People plan to line the street Saturday afternoon for an hour while holding signs and standing next to people who have lost loved ones to gun violence.
People like Vonette Nixon, whose son, 18-year-old Dari’one Flanigan, was gunned down at a gas station on the Northside three years ago. His killer has not been arrested.
Nixon said her youngest son’s death is difficult to deal with, especially knowing there are others like her son.
“It breaks my heart because unfortunately, we are having more young people who are dying rather than living,” Nixon said.
Nixon will join others, many sharing similar experiences, Saturday afternoon to advocate against gun violence.
Quench The Violence is one of the organizations leading the movement.
Sincere Harris, an administrative assistant with Quench The Violence, is active in trying to combat senseless crime.
“I think that people have been desensitized to how this affects our community as a whole,” Harris said. “We feel that the quantity of people that they will see will kind of bring some humanity back to the situation.”
According to our News4JAX records, 176 people have been shot in Duval County so far in 2022. That is seven fewer than at this point last year.
But Nixon says even one is too many.
“It heavies your heart because it’s like salt being poured on an open wound,” she said. “Every time you see another mother grieving and going through what you are going through, it kind of takes you back to that day when you were in their shoes.”
Harris said beyond this weekend’s demonstration, there are solutions out there to reduce gun violence. They include having support systems in households and providing community resources and education.
“It takes all of us to come together to put an end to this senseless killing and murdering,” she said.