Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children hosts walk to raise gun violence awareness

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Local nonprofit Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children held a walk Saturday to raise awareness about Columbus gun violence and how it can affect the fabric of families' everyday life. 

MOMCC member Brenda Johnson knows everyone who came to this event had one goal: to make sure Columbus is safer. 

“It warms our hearts, I mean, it feels good to know other people care in their community. It's not just us against Columbus,” Johnson said. “I think more people need to get involved. There are too many people that are staying in their houses that doesn't think it can happen to them. But none of us thought it could happen to us and look where we are.”   

The Columbus Division of Police was also a partner in the event with a common goal of making the city safer, and MOMCC said this was one of the biggest crime prevention events of the year. The group wants to continue the conversation about the impact of gun violence throughout Columbus, and they have one specific goal in mind. 

“Under triple digits,” Johnson said. “We've been above triple digits since like 2017. And that means over 100 moms and families have lost their loved ones. My son is a father of six, so that's six kids without a father who was murdered.” 

Today was a moment for the community to come together and enjoy music, dancing, food and uplift one another while hoping for a brighter future. 

“Nobody understands the pain of losing a child more than another mom, and we kind of go through that grief process together," Johnson said. "We all get angry, we all cry, we all have our moment, but we are here to hold each other up and support each other through it all.”