ST. LOUIS — On a sunny, Sunday afternoon the moms, dads and their kids should have been enjoying Fairground Park near North Grand and Kossuth Avenue.
Instead, many said they're too afraid to go to the north St. Louis park because of gun violence.
"We are tired of hearing Black-on-Black crime. We are tired of hearing violence in our community," said Michael Hassell, a member of St. Louis Freedom Fighters' Gun Club and co-organizer of the rally.
"I'm very sick of the gun violence," said Rozina Jones-Williams.
Jones-Williams knows the violence first hand.
On July 28, Jones-Williams said she and her daughter's boyfriend, Xavien Brooks, left her daughter's apartment near Page and Temple and were walking outside when suddenly they heard a barrage of gunshots.
"As soon as he shut my car door, we heard 100 rounds," Rozina said.
She said two gun-wielding men, one armed with an assault rifle, walked up, ambushed her daughter's boyfriend and sprayed Rozina's car with bullets.
"Xavien was shot 21 times. I ducked. I seen the shooter coming out the gangway of the alley and then I looked to the right and another shooter came out and I took a bullet to my back," she recalled.
Xavien Brooks, a 28-year-old father of two and a landscaper, was killed.
Rozina Jones-Williams still has a bullet lodged in her upper side.
The two shooters are still out there.
Police said so far this year there have been 169 homicides in St. Louis. A dozen of the victims were children and teenagers.
READ MORE: A tragic number: More children fatally shot in St. Louis so far in 2020 than in all of 2019
After a fiery rally Sunday, the frustrated citizens, clergy members and community activists took to the streets on foot and in their cars and pleaded for peace.
"Our objective is to get boots on the ground and to bring bigger presence in the community other than the police, to deter people from wanting to commit crimes," said co-organizer Mike Avery.
Members of the St. Louis Freedom Fighters' Club, Search and Rescue and others groups marched with the citizens around Fairground Park during the rally which lasted for more than two hours.
"We have to teach our kids the right way and not the wrong. We are here to take back our community one second, one day and one hour at a time," said Hassell.
A battle they said they're determined to keep fighting.
"Our next goal is to start community patrol after this march, which we are launching tomorrow. We must build better relationships among our families and our children and build safer places for our people to live," added Avery.
Anyone with information is urged to call the St. Louis police department's Homicide Division at 314-444-5371, or anyone with a tip who wants to remain anonymous and is interested in a reward can contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).
