CROSS PLAINS, Tenn. - Friday night around 30 people sat in the pews of the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. The gathering was a sort of support group.
It was one no parent wants to be a part of.
“Today would’ve been his 25th birthday,” said a tearful Tiffany Fowler, talking about her son Gizzy who was murdered last year.
The moms in the room almost all have children who were murdered in cold blood, many by other teens. Each of them used a gun.
“He was just a good kid and somebody took his life for no reason,” said Taura Sherrell, showing a picture of her son Nathaniel.
Nathaniel was 18 years old when he was gunned down. Taura doesn't know who did it or why.
Other children died when small arguments turned violent. Some of the shootings seemed to be random.
And one 15-year-old died at the hand of an 11-year-old who said it was an accident.
‘Things will never be the same,” Taura said.
She and the other parents believe it's a growing problem in Nashville. Last year there were two child deaths from gun violence.
In 2013 there were three.
This year seven kids have already died with four months left in 2015.
They were:
- DeVontae Ziegler, age 15
- Elijah Butler, age 18
- Rowneshia Overton, age 15
- Brandon Williams, age 17
- Kenneth Jones, age 15
- Dejuan Lytle, age 16
- Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Hatcher, age 18
Partners in the Struggle founder Earl Jordan said there aren’t enough positive activities and role models to elevate young men who come from poverty-stricken communities and single parent households.
And while even one death is hard, they say seven has been unimaginable.
“I know how it feels to lose a child and it's not a good feeling,” Taura said. She doesn’t want any other mother to have to go through the same ordeal.
The group said before the Mayoral election now is the time to make their voices heard for change. Because even one child lost is one grieving family too many.
Mayoral Candidates made their presence known during the vigil. David Fox showed up to speak with church leaders before the service. Megan Barry sent a representative in her place who spoke to the families, rehashing his own experiences growing up.
Former Mayoral candidate Howard Gentry was also there. He announced a partnership with the District Attorney's office for a violent crime task force to try to prevent these crimes from happening.
