JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Following a violent weekend in Jacksonville where two children were killed within 24 hours, anti-violence advocates are pushing for change.

In a string of violent incidents since Friday, a 7-year-old, Breon Allen, was killed in what police called a gang-related shooting. Then the next morning, an 8-month-old lost their life when investigators said they were placed in the road and hit by a car.
The next day, a teenager was grazed by a bullet in another shooting, according to police. Then Monday morning, police said two men were shot in the face during a home invasion in Brentwood.

Anti-violence advocates said the entire community is needed to help stop crime. AJ Jordan with MAD DADS said violence like this tears families apart.

“It’s a trickle effect, it’s trauma for everybody,” he said. “It’s trauma for everybody and we just have to do better.”

Focusing on the root causes of crime is part of Jacksonville’s new initiative Journey Forward. Community Initiatives Director Charles Griggs said the initiative aims to unite the community to make the city safer. 

He said one focus of it when it launches in coming months will be on literacy. The Literacy Alliance of Northeast Florida reports that 75% of state prison inmates have low literacy skills or did not complete high school.

“We’re figuring out how well early literacy works,” Griggs said. “We want to make sure we collect that data and understand this is the best practice that works well in our community.”

Anti-violence advocates said they’re getting to work now.

“We have to keep the momentum going by making the phone calls to Crime Stoppers, making the phone calls to JSO tip line, making the phone calls to MAD DADS,” Jordan said.

“It’s not just people who are making bad choices who are getting caught up in this,” said Gray. “It’s also people who are completely innocent, even elementary aged kids.”

Pastor Adam Gray is on the executive board of ICARE, the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment, which spent last year fighting to bring down Jacksonville’s murder rate.

Gray brought up that the homicide rate in Jacksonville dropped by about half last year compared to the year before, but advocates say even one community member killed is too many.