FRANKLINTON - Holding a candle and shouting, Tilesha Abron's words were crystal clear.
"Tonight, we will stop the violence," said the 29-year-old Franklinton woman to a crowd of about 300, many of them children, gathered at the same intersection where gunfire claimed the lives of two people four days earlier. "It's not just going to take the police. It's going to take everybody."
 DAILY NEWS PHOTOS/Jacob Brooks Tilesha Abron speaks about community's responsibility to report crime Thursday. Advertisement |
Abron said she organized a candlelight vigil Thursday evening to honor the victims and send out a "stop the violence" message.
Despite dozens of witnesses to the shootings, police said they have had difficulty finding people willing to talk about what happened.
"If you know something, please tell it," Abron told the crowd. The families of the victims deserve to know what happened, she added.
The vigil began at 7 p.m., with area residents in the black community trickling in throughout the 40-minute event. Franklinton Police officers and Louisiana State Troopers stood guard, blocking off traffic.
Other people, including Franklinton Mayor Earle Brown and Police Chief Donald Folse, also spoke.
Folse asked for the community's help with reporting crime, and Brown promised resolution. "Rest assured," the mayor said. "We'll do what we have to do."
Three local ministers also spoke, offering prayers, and a family member of the 13-year-old boy that died spoke about parenting and problems that plague the community.
Area residents, some holding candles, some not, watched intently throughout. Nearby, two small crosses were stuck in the ground, illuminated by the light of a line of candles. A few feet away, in the street, bloodstains and spray-painted lines from police were still prominent.
Following the vigil, the crowd dispersed, many families walking back home in groups.
"It was nice to bring the kids together," said Eshia Gatlin, a Franklinton mother of three, who attended the vigil with family members.
The tragedy was a wake-up call to both the community and police, she said. While people may expect such events in a big city, it really "can happen anywhere," Gatlin said.
She said she hopes there will be a greater police presence in the neighborhood, now. Gatlin lives a block away from where the shooting occurred, and since then, has not let her children out of sight. After the vigil, however, Gatlin said she feels safer.
Police Chief Folse said he felt good after the vigil, too.
"I think it went fantastic," he said, adding some people have already come forward willing to volunteer information.
An anti-violence march, organized by the Fair City Youth Organization, was scheduled for 10 a.m. today, from City Hall to the site of the shootings. Organizers are calling the march "A Walk to Live."
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