Following shootings Wednesday, Charlotte anti-violence advocates discuss solutions as November election approaches
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — There have been 52 homicides in Charlotte so far in 2024, which is an increase from the same period last year. The Biden-Harris Campaign hosted a roundtable in west Charlotte Thursday to talk about gun violence.
Clydia Hemingway-Davis was a part of the discussion. She still remembers her son who was shot and killed in Charlotte in 2019.
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“He was 22 years old, he had only been 22 for eight days then he was buried a day before Mother’s Day,” Hemingway-Davis said. “It’s time to take accountability and responsibility. The criminals need to be held accountable.”
Jacqueline Lewis also participated in the roundtable. She lost her son and grandson to gun violence.
“My grandson shot and killed by a gun. I watched a 16-year-old get his head blown off with a gun. How does a 16-year-old get a gun?” Lewis asked. “I’m very concerned about gun control in our city. I’m very concerned about it because I lost my son, because I lost my grandchild.”
A 14-year-old boy was shot in the woods Wednesday in northeast Charlotte, just hours after a man was shot and killed inside his vehicle on North Tryon Street.
“It breaks my heart every time I go out to a homicide scene and then I’m told it’s a juvenile, a Black, young juvenile,” Lewis said.
The group says this upcoming election is critical for violence reduction.
“It’s very important that you know who you’re voting for and what they stand for,” Lewis said.
Just last weekend, Former president Donald Trump received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. Trump pledged to protect the right to bear arms which he claims is “under siege.”
Hemingway-Davis says she’s supporting President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris this November for her son and other gun violence victims.
“It’s not about taking away gun rights at all,” Hemingway-Davis said. “It’s about keeping people safe and sensible guns. We have no need for assault rifles.”
Late last year, Biden established the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention for the first time in history to help reduce violence in communities.
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