By Lillian Donahue | November 8, 2020 at 10:37 PM EST - Updated November 9 at 12:42 AM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Sunday night, dozens of people gathered to honor a teenager killed in North Charleston.
Family and friends lit candles in memory of 16-year-old Jamez Sweat who was shot and killed off Otranto Road Wednesday night.
“Senseless. Shocking,” Sweat’s aunt Bridgette Neely said. “I’ve cried all that I can cry but I still, I guess I’m still in disbelief.”
They say it’s a story too often told in North Charleston. Community members are calling on young people to stop the cycle of gun violence.
“We have to be leaders and we have to start the kids on leadership at a very young age,” Neighbor Naserian Windom said. “This killing is horrible.”
A number of activist groups also showed up reinforcing the message of peace saying they don’t want to have another vigil like this.
“Normalize black men being able to talk to each other,” Justin hunt, Stand as One organizer said. “Normalize Black love and normalize the black Community being a village for all of our children.”
After the vigil, Neely says she’s been inspired by the outpouring of support to turn young lives around.
“After this I really want to talk to them about maybe being an activist or something in the community because if not, like I told him, we’re going to be doing this way more often,” Neely said.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
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