While the deaths of UVA football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry have captured national and international attention, others in our community who have died or have been seriously injured by gun violence have gone unnoticed.
Let's not forget that a spate of shootings has struck Charlottesville recently and many of those cases remain unsolved. (October 18, 2022 Daily Progress article.) The families of these victims are also grieving and face continuing violence every day.
May we not forget these forgotten victims and their families.
May we find ways to comfort and care for them.
May we not demonize the perpetrators.
May we see with compassion that the perpetrator's family are also grieving and mourning.
May we see with justice that we are embedded in an inequitable system that robs many people of hope.
May we fight to reduce the number of guns that make killing so easy and prevalent.
May we pray for those who risk their lives daily to apprehend those who harm others.
May we pray for those who work hard to reduce violence in our neighborhoods.
May we pray for the helpers and healers in our community.
May God have mercy on us all.