TAMPA, Fla. – Parents and loved ones of several homicide victims are taking to the streets to urge community members to unite against gun violence.
The group, which goes by the name Rise Up for Peace, plans to host a series of peace walks throughout neighborhoods impacted by gun crimes in Tampa.
Mayor Jane Castor and Tampa Police Assistant Chiefs Ruben Delgado and Lee Bercaw are walking alongside Rise Up for Peace members to show their support at the group’s first walk today, January 17.
Participants will leave the C. Blythe Andrews Library at 12 p.m. and walk approximately seven blocks to the Jackson Heights NFL YET Center where parents will urge the community to end gun violence and help bring murder suspects to justice.
Rise Up for Peace organizers Patricia Brown and Jaquline Saddler-Daniels are leading the peace walk initiative with the help of St. Petersburg Ambassador for Peace Edie Darling.
Brown and Saddler-Daniels lost their sons within months of each other in 2020. Brown’s 27-year-old son, Devante Brown, was shot and killed on March 21, 2020. Several months later, on July 12, Saddler-Daniels lost her son 28-year-old Dwayne Saddleralso to gun violence.
Both cases remain unsolved.
Individuals with information on any unsolved homicide case are urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 800-873-8477.
Crime Stoppers will not ask the tipster for their name and will payout up to $5,000 in cash for information leading to an arrest.