SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The community of Springfield came together Saturday afternoon for the No Silence, End the Gun Violence Rally at New North AME Church.
What You Need To Know
- On Saturday, the Springfield community came together for the No Silence, End the Gun Violence Rally
- The rally was organized by Dion Green, a man who lost his father during the mass shooting in Dayton last August
- Green created it in an effort to give people who have lost their loved ones a platform to be heard
During the event, Springfield Resident Esmeralda Guerero shared her story about how her uncle was shot and killed after losing a bet.
“One of the people he was playing with actually had really bad bipolar issues and losing $35 blew him off and they thought the appropriate response to that was to shoot my uncle multiple times in the back,” said Guerero.
It’s been almost two years since the passing of her uncle and the suspect has yet to be convicted.
“We know who it is,” she said. “We just don’t have proof. We don’t have witnesses. We don’t have the eyewitnesses that were there and it’s something that no one should have to go through.”
One by one, others also shared the stories of their loved ones lost to gun violence. Dion Green lost his father during the mass shooting in Dayton last August.
“This is my passion, to get out and share my story and encourage others to share their stories and reunite and share across the country,” said Green, the organizer of the event.
Green says the purpose of this event was not only to shed light on gun violence, but to also give people like Guerrero a platform to share their stories.
“Even though our loved ones have been taken from us, we’re still here living through it, so I just want people who are not able to share their stories, hopefully I can encourage them to start sharing their emotions and start healing,” he said.
Guerrero says she doesn’t have the answers to ending violence, but she says she will do her part to help create the change she wants to see.
“I can’t protect people from the pain I seen my family experience,” she said. “But if I can change the way people are, maybe I can. If someone sees this and they feel inclined to share this story or to share their own story and tell people, listen this is what we are doing wrong, we have to change it, maybe in the future, maybe not this generation, but a couple of generations from now, we could be in a better place.”
