Like many cities in Virginia, Roanoke has seen a spike in shootings over the past few years.
Friday, pastors, advocates and city officials launched a new campaign, called Cease Fire: Victory in the Valley, focused on reducing gun violence.
They encouraged the community to take at least one action in the next 30 days to address gun violence-- steps like getting involved in youth mentoring, talking to friends and neighbors about gun safety, getting a gun lock, and pressing elected officials to do more.
Organizers said police can’t solve the problem alone. "Eliminating violence in our city is not just the job of our city's law enforcement, Commonwealth's Attorney, city council," Mayor Sherman Lea said during a news conference outside city hall. "But we as city residents must work together."
Pastor Preston Tyler echoed that idea and called for people to get involved. "We need barbers. We need beauticians. We need teachers. We need government officials. We need police officers. We need pastors. We need people in the pews. We need everybody to make this thing work."
City Sheriff Antonio Hash said he welcomed the idea for the 30-day campaign when pastors brought it forward. "We told our pastors: 'Your voice is louder than what you believe. Because you don't just carry the authority of a pastor. You carry the authority of the one above.'"
The city already has taken other steps, including changes to law enforcement, a grant-funded Gun Violence Prevention Commission, and a youth curfew over the summer months.
