CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With crime scene after crime scene, Stephanie Harrison feels the loss.
"It just breaks my heart. It just reopens my wound," said Harrison. "I am pissed."
Harrison, who is with the Stop Killing Our Children Support Group, knows firsthand the pain of losing a loved one to homicide. She saw violence impact others around her but never thought it would find her.
"It got closer and closer and closer, and all of a sudden it knocks on my front door," Harrison said.
Harrison's son Marvin "Marquis" Harrison was 26 when she lost him to gun violence. Now, she feels a duty to keep others from her same pain.
From Feldbank Drive, which saw 2020's first homicide scene of the year, to Beatties Ford Road, where more than 100 rounds sprayed into a crowd in June, killing four, to the most recent killing Sunday on Tyrone Drive, the Charlotte native believes all of it tears the Queen City apart.
Harrison has organized a series of four anti-violence marches, with the first Saturday at noon.
It is a similar passion James Barnett feels. He keeps a list of the victims' names, year by year.
"Last year broke a record, and this year seems like it's going to be even higher," said Barnett, who is with the group Stop the Killing.
CMPD reported 108 homicides last year, which was a record-breaking year. With the city on track to surpass that number, communities are calling for action.
"We support stopping the brutality from the police department and racism, but you've got to come out and support us when we come out and say it's time to stop the killing," Barnett said.
It is a movement he and Harrison both think needs a concrete plan and many voices to succeed.
"Don't wait until it's your family. Don't wait until it's your brother, your sister, your cousin, your aunt, your uncle," said Harrison. "You need to stand up now. Because once it hits your household, it's too late. You're already in the statistics."
Here are the details for the upcoming Stop Killing Our Children Support Group marches:
- Saturday, Aug. 29, 12 p.m., 1541 West Boulevard
- Saturday, Sept. 12, 12 p.m., Food Lion, 931 N. Wendover Road
- Saturday, Sept. 26, 12 p.m., 2217 Dr. Webber Avenue
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 12 p.m., Dillehay Courts, N. Pine Street