ROANOKE, Va. – Church leaders caught in the heart of Roanoke’s gun violence are now claiming a small victory after the city saw zero deadly shootings in 30 days.
“Hallelujah. I’m ecstatic. I’m overwhelmed,” said Rev. Preston Tyler, the pastor at Hill Street Baptist Church.
“Thirty days without one is worth celebrating. It’s worth celebrating,” said Rev. Thomas Harper, the pastor at Central Baptist Church.
Both pastors work at churches in Northwest Roanoke.
“We’ve had some people that have lost loved ones,” said Harper.
Both are also behind the gun violence prevention initiative, “Ceasefire: Victory in the Valley.”
“I just believe what we’re witnessing now is the result of that happening,” said Harper.
Roanoke Police broke down the crime statistics, specifically for aggravated assaults or homicides where the victim was shot.
Police say from Jan. 1 to Oct. 15 of this year, there were 56 total incidents of gun violence, deadly or not. Of those, 38 happened in the Northwest part of the city, six happened in Southeast, five in Northeast and five in Southwest. Police say the location of two incidents is unknown.
Police analyzed the data further and discovered the majority of those involved in acts of gun violence disproportionately are black men.
Black males make up 49 of the 72 victims, and 35 of the 42 offenders.
Harper and Tyler say violence affects everyone.
“We all feel the sting of losing a loved one to gun violence,” said Harper.
“It just doesn’t affect the African American community, it affects every community,” said Tyler. “With everybody being in the tangle some way, shape, form or fashion.”
They’re now hoping to keep the momentum going.
“The more we talk about it, the more it gets out there, the more people hear about it and the more people want to put the guns down and put the prayers up,” said Tyler.
Roci Gun Violence Stats 1.1.23-10.15.23 by WSLS on Scribd