Neighbors Hold Prayer Walk After 1-Year-Old Murdered
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- One south Baltimore neighborhood is still reeling after the shooting death of a toddler. Neighbors are taking a strong message to the streets.
Gigi Barnett explains it starts with a single step.
U.S. Marshals are searching for 22-year-old Rashid Mayo in connection with the shooting death of 16-month-old Carter Scott last month. He's the third suspect wanted in a crime that's shocked the Cherry Hill area where the shooting occurred.
This weekend, neighbors are walking through their community with a pressing message.
"Keep praying and things will change. Prayer changes things," said Michael Battle, who organized the prayer walk.
Organizers Michael Battle and Ronald Anderson call this a prayer walk. They started it last year. It's a moving one mile vigil around Cherry Hill. Walkers stop in eight different spots to pray for less violence, fewer drugs and guns and more peace.
One of the stops is not far from where little Carter was killed.
"It's almost demonic for people to think like that, for people to do and be so cold-hearted and do things like that to an innocent child. That's Satan," Battle said.
As participants walk along the streets in Cherry Hill, some of them will pass out flyers looking to solve crimes.
"Somebody walked up and shot him right under the eye and then an additional nine times after that," said Lystra Ali.
Ali recounts how her 15-year-old son Ryquan Campbell was murdered back in 2010. His case is still unsolved. She says the Cherry Hill community has changed dramatically since she grew up here.
"It's just so unfortunate that we have to come together for things of this nature. It's such a wonderful community with so much potential and they just have no value for life right now," Ali said.
Their hope now is that the prayers are answered.
If you know anything about this case, detectives want to hear from you. Call Metro Crime Stoppers at 877-756-2587.
