PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Families from all over St. Pete came together to remember lives lost to gun violence and to bring awareness to the issue.
The awareness walk comes just one week before people can begin openly carrying guns in Florida.
WATCH: Families in St. Pete walk to spread awareness about gun violence
The St. Pete Police Chief and families in the community said it's now more important than ever to educate children about the dangers of gun violence.
"I would want people to remember him by his smile, he had a cute smile, he had one dimple at the top of his cheek," said Jessica Lilly.
Lilly is talking about her 15-year-old son, who was shot and killed three weeks ago.
"He did homeschooling, he was athletic. It's sometimes unfortunate that your kids choose to hang with the wrong crowds," said Lilly.
She's one of many who have lost their children to gun violence.
"I wish I didn't have to be here, but I mean, one thing about him, I like to tell people in this situation with my son, whether he was doing good or bad, right or wrong, he was still a child," said Lilly.
Maress Scott's son, Marquis Scott, was shot and killed back in 2019.
Maress is the organizer of an organization called Quis for Life, and he started a walk against gun violence.
"Enough is enough. We need to save our children," said Maress.
Wednesday night, people walked and chanted. At the end of the walk stood a memorial with the faces and shoes of those who were killed.
"I wanted to see him do so many great things, I wanted to take him and show him so much of the world, but what I found out, even in his death, he has taken me to more places than I could ever take him," said Scott.
A recent court ruling overturned a ban on openly carrying guns. The walk against violence comes just one week before people can begin openly carrying guns in Florida.
"It's going to be something that people haven't really seen, people walking around with guns, so our thing is really educating the community," said St. Pete Police Chief Anthony Holloway.
Holloway said the police department is working to educate people about gun safety.
"To teach our children that guns are not a toy and it's not a way to solve a problem, because once you pull that trigger and that bullet leaves that gun, you can't say sorry once that person is dead," said Holloway.
Scott wants to see more done to prevent further loss of life.
"We are tired of burying our children," said Scott.
People will be allowed to openly carry their guns throughout the state beginning on Sept. 25.
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