The many faces of gun violence in Chicago were plastered Sunday outside of the Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park, where dozens of people gathered inside to remember the many lives lost to gun violence, not only in Chicago, but across the country.
The vigil also marked 12 years since the Sandy Hook school mass shooting.
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“We’re in a state that we need each other more than ever,” said Afrika Porter, whose son was shot and killed. “We need each other more than ever.”
The room harbored the grief of many, whose pain fuels a mission to make sure that feeling isn’t spread.
“Can we commit, today, that we’re going to check on each other more?” Porter said.
The commitment is more than a decade strong. Chicago Survivors hosted the “12th National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence in Chicago” Sunday night, embracing families of homicide victims while calling on the end to gun violence across the country.
“We have felt the rippling impact each bullet carries through its path,” Illinois Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton said. “We understand that it’s not just enough to respond to gun violence, but we have to do more to prevent it.”