We cannot let the shooting on Saturday on Jefferson Street define the area.
Yesterday, I stumbled on a church service on Jefferson where the pastor echoed this in his prayers.
“Lord, I pray that you would help us to see how our actions and our anger can impact the lives of other people who have nothing to do with why we’re angry oh God,” said Rev. Aaron Marble of Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church.
The senseless shooting happened just a few yards away from the church. I visited Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church on Monday.
“We are close and we do care about each other, ” Marble shared with me.
Just after the street opened following a street fair for Tennessee State University’s Homecoming, police say two conflicting groups shot at each other. The shooting sent ten people — mostly innocent bystanders — to the hospital. A 24-year-old man was killed.
“I think there is a clear lack of courage, a clear lack of compassion from a lot of our elected officials as it relates to enacting commonsense gun laws, and I think there is a responsibility that we have as human beings — one to another — to respect, love, and value life,” Marble said.