PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The community is speaking out after a 14-year-old was shot and killed over the weekend in St. Pete.
Organization leaders with Quis for Life Inc. want more to be done to end youth gun violence.
"Just horrible… I wouldn’t want anybody to go through that," said Lulu Garcia.
When Lulu Garcia walks outside of her home, she now sees a memorial honoring the life of 14-year-old Gaige Santos Brown.
"I'm sad. I'm trying not to cry, like I'm holding back so much right now," said Garcia.
St. Pete Police said Brown was shot and killed on Friday on 15th Avenue South.
Police have one teen in custody, and are still looking for the other two involved in the shooting.
"I mean, he lost his life, but they lost their life too in prison…and they are kids…they are all just kids," said Garcia.
For Garcia, it hits close to home.
Her kids went to school with Brown… and she said her home is where most of the neighborhood kids hang out.
"Caring, loving, and open… we are not judgmental, I'm here to help anybody and everybody who needs help, especially kids," said Garcia.
Sierra Clark volunteers with Quis for Life Inc., an organization aiming to end gun violence among youth in honor of Marquis Rory Scott, who was shot and killed back in 2019.
She said the community needs more safe spaces like Garcia’s home.
"I want to see more families, I want to see the village again… I'm a community kid, I had a mentor, I had neighbors who cared, I had people who would step in…I had what you would call fill-in-the-blank people," said Sierra Clark.
Clark said that when she heard about Gaige, she was heartbroken.
"I was just like, no, that can’t be… we are not still hearing of these things so frequently in our neighborhood," said Clark.
Organization leaders said this memorial not only honors Gaige but also serves as a reminder to the community of all the work that needs to be done to keep teens safe.
Clark is working with the City of St. Pete to provide more mentors to teens who need help.
"A real community liaison that is a face that the youth knows, this is a safe person, this is a person I can talk to, this is a village," said Clark.
"I feel like if your kid is more comfortable talking to you, instead of looking for the streets and looking for somebody else," said Garcia.
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