LYNN — More than 300 people walked the streets of Lynn Saturday, chanting “Stop the violence, put the guns down.”
The organized march was the sixth annual Stop The Violence Lynn Peace Walk, which started at the basketball courts at Keaney Park, behind Lynn English, and ended at Warren Street Park, where four people were shot three weeks ago, one of them fatally.
There was no other place in Lynn to end the walk, said committee member and Ward 6 councilor Fred Hogan.
“We are tired of violence in our city,” Hogan said. “We wanted to take back our park. We wanted to send a message that this can’t happen in our city anymore.”
Hogan pointed to the back of the park’s basketball court where a memorial lay for Brandon Jesurum, the 34-year-old Lynn man who died in the shooting. Candles and messages saying “We will never forget you Brandon” filled the memorial, as Lynn residents sought out the comfort of each other on the other side of the court.
The walk was meant for the kids of Lynn, said committee member and Stop The Violence co-founder Antonio Gutierrez. Community members spent years trying to revamp the Warren Street Park so the neighborhood kids could enjoy it, he said. Less than one month after its completion, the quadruple shooting happened.
“For 13 years, I’ve been fighting this fight for everybody in Lynn,” said Gutierrez. “If we don’t do something, is this how we are always going to feel? Scared to leave our homes?”
Nakiba Nelson is a mother of four who has lived in Lynn her entire life. She was across the street when the Aug. 24 shooting broke out and was terrified, she said.
“All I could think about was ‘How close are they’?” she said. “I’m just so grateful my kids weren’t around when it happened.”
Nelson has been a Peace Walk participant for several years in a row, she said, and she makes sure her kids participate in it, too. She and her family walk every year to raise awareness about guns, bring safety to the city and to help bring the community together, she said.
“As parents and community members all we want is less violence in our neighborhoods and safety for our kids,” she said.
Damianny Garrido, 17, is a senior at Lynn English High School. When she heard about the Warren Street shooting, she said she was shocked, but at the same time not surprised. Violence in the city is going to continue until residents work together to end it, she said.
“So many people walked with us today and I think that shows everyone around that we, as a community, are done with the violence,” Garrido said. “It’s a shame that little kids don’t want to play in our parks anymore because they don’t feel safe. It’s disgusting.”
Lynn residents, kids and city officials all enjoyed themselves at the walk’s after-party on the Warren Street basketball courts. There was donated food, a DJ and live entertainment from a group that flew all the way from Florida to be a part of the event.
“People came together today from all different parts of Lynn,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “We showed up strong and we showed up together in support of sending out a message that violence has no place in our city.”
