CHARLOTTE, N.C. — They say the change starts with them.
UNC Charlotte students, members of the local NAACP and neighbors hoping to make a difference marched in Romare Bearden Park Tuesday night, demanding an end to gun violence.
"Enough is enough and we're here to put action to our words," one attendee said.
Kendall Crank, a Charlotte mother and innocent bystander, was killed last week, caught in the middle of a shootout on her way to nursing school at Central Piedmont Community College. Three men were charged in her murder.
Days before, a CMPD officer shot and killed a man in the parking lot of a Beatties Ford Burger King. Police say Danquirs Franklin was armed with a gun, determined to cause harm and refused to follow their commands.
Late last month, a 22-year-old was shot and killed outside a student housing apartment complex near UNCC.
"It's just been a lot of violence in our community," one person at the gathering said.
So far this year, NBC Charlotte has counted hundreds of shootings, and at least 32 murders across the Queen City.
Most of them involving guns.
Protestors at the event believe thoughts and prayers aren't enough to save the city from gun violence. They want Charlotte to set an example of what a safe city should look like.
"Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina," one attendee said. "So this is where it starts."