Faith leaders across Tallahassee are turning their attention to healing after a week of gun violence, gathering the community for a prayer vigil meant to bring peace and calm to a hurting community.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Faith leaders rally Tallahassee community toward healing after string of gun violence leaves many wounded
With linked hands and bowed heads, the community came together Thursday for the vigil after a string of gun violence in Tallahassee.
Leon County District 1 Commissioner Bill Proctor organized the event to help the community process the pain together.
“While we don’t have answers to a number of things, we know a God who is able to step up and to step in in a moment like this and provide calm and peace,” Proctor said.
Pastor Stanley Walker opened the doors to his church Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church after visiting one of the victims in the hospital, 17-year-old Kaybreeyanna King.
“All of us gather around the bedside and pray for KK, and in leaving, I said, do you hear me?…and she gave me the thumbs up that she heard me, Walker said. I was moved by compassion and said, we need to let her and her family and other victims let us know that we are concerned how by praying for them, having compassion for them because all of us feel the pain and the hurt that has happened in our community.
King was shot in the head during a mass shooting Saturday on Perry Street, according to a GoFundMe created by her mother. That shooting left 11 people shot and one grandmother hurt while running away.
TPD Chief Lawrence Revell said the shooting stemmed from a fight among “several youth.”
After that fight broke up, another fight occurred right after.
He said within two minutes a gun was brought and handed from one youth to another who started firing.
He said there was a camera right above where the incident happened, but it was not working.
The Perry Street shooting marked the start of back-to-back gun violence in the community, with at least four additional shootings happening since then.
Tallahassee police have since made an arrest in the Perry Street shooting, taking a 15-year-old into custody.
Speaking at the vigil, Revell shared that six victims remain in the hospital, with three in critical condition including an 11-year-old whose family has since launched a GoFundMe.
He said the investigation is still ongoing and won’t stop until all people involved “are brought to justice.”
Revell said he cannot comment on whether the teen was or was not the shooter at the mall, a speculation circulating on social media. In September, three teens the youngest 14 and 15 were arrested in connection to a shooting at Governor’s Square Mall.
Revell also called for help to end the violence.
“It’s time to stop talking about what we know and to actually start doing something and the church I believe is the vehicle to get that done,” Revell said.
I talked to community members Sherri Davis McGill and Graldine Herris, who said the shooting invoked a sense of grief they’ve felt before. Both have lost loved ones to gun violence.
“I lost my son in 2017, so that hit home for me, losing one,” Davis McGill said.
“I have grandchildren, great-grandchildren that are concerned about what’s going on with the gun crime and seeing what we can do. I’m just interested in seeing what can we do, even as a great-grandmother,” Herris said.
Revell told me he assures that the community is still safe after the shooting. TPD plans to increase its presence and lighting on Perry Street after Florida A&M Universitys football game Saturday.
I also requested a statement from the attorney representing the teen but haven’t heard back yet.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.