ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Dozens of Tampa Bay-area residents walked to raise awareness about gun violence.
The family of Marquis Scott hosted the 5th annual gun violence awareness walk in south St. Petersburg. Tuesday marked five years since Scott was shot and killed .
Scott’s family also honored the life of Yvonne Abernathy. They said she was killed in a shooting in June. Her family attended the walk, but didn’t want to speak.
Scott’s mother, Marjorie, said Abernathy and her son dated in high school. She was the first young woman Marquis brought home to introduce to the family.
Families who joined the walk created signs that read “enough is enough,” and “no more silence, end gun violence.”
They said the gun violence in the city is an epidemic.
“I wish I could tell people it gets better, but it just doesn’t, it changes,” said Christie Potts, who lost her son to gun violence back in 2015. “Within seven weeks, seven young men was killed when my son got killed. It’s like everyone of those kids became my kids. Every time a shooting happens, you feel like it’s your son all over again. And every time somebody else got shot my son’s name was put back in the news.”