SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Community leaders are planning to hold multiple rallies across the capital city Thursday. The Silence the Violence rallies are being held in Del Paso Heights, Oak Park, and Valley Hi.
"It's happening too much. Too many young people are dying," said Pastor Sylvester Howard.
With 22 homicides so far this year, organizers gathered at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Oak Park to make signs for the rallies hoping to send a message.
"The biggest message that we're sending is enough is enough, silence the violence, we as one," said rally organizer Gregory King.
It all comes after police recently confirmed that the majority of the homicides are happening in a concentrated small area, often in underserved communities. It's only seven of the nearly 100 square miles of the city. That includes Del Paso Heights, Oak Park, Meadowview and Valley High.
"The numbers are very alarming. 75% of our shooting victims are Hispanic or African American, and 50% are under the age of 30. So it's really affecting our youth, and it's really affecting the sense of safety," Police Chief Kathy Lester said in June.
Howard said people are tired of what is going on in some neighborhoods. So, Howard is planning to take to the streets with other pastors and community leaders despite hot temperatures this week.
"We are mindful of the heat. We will have canopies out there. We will have water out there, but the work still must go on," said King. "We can't let the conditions of the weather stop of us from getting out there and being boots on the ground."
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg insists city leaders are listening, noting the council just approved a budget last month with a $3.2 million for the Office of Violence Prevention.
"We're taking every step that we can to put more money into reducing violence, into early intervention for young people, into more summer programming for youth and working with law enforcement to get more guns off the streets," Steinber said in June.
However, King said money alone won't fix the problem; it takes community action, which includes the planned rally.
"It's open to the entire community. We'll be on the corner of Grand Avenue and Marysville. We'll be on the corner of 12th Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard. We'll be on the corner of Mack Road and Center Parkway from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.," said King.
WATCH ALSO:
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
