DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The families of several recent shooting victims are working together to curb the volume of gun violence in the Daytona Beach area. Their bond all started in a cemetery months ago.
“My life will forever be changed. It will never be the same,” LaShandra Miles said.
The chance meeting has become the start of a local movement.
“My baby’s flower was missing, and I was really upset. I was like, ‘Excuse me, excuse me, do you have any wire?’ and she said, ‘Yes, I think so,” Miles said.
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That’s when Miles said the families explained to each other why they were there.
Miles’ son, 24-year-old Lawrence Davis, was shot and killed during a confrontation at a car-detailing business in Holly Hill in April.
LaShanda Jones’ nephew and Linda McLaury’s grandson, D’Shawn Mclaury, was shot and killed after an argument outside of a hookah bar in Daytona Beach back in November.
“Put the guns down. It’s not worth it,” Jones said. “It’s not just affecting the victim’s life, but it’s affecting everybody.”
The women are now banding together to call for action against gun violence.
In Holly Hill, Miles’ son was the only person fatally shot this year, but in Daytona Beach, police said there have been over a dozen shootings — with at least seven ending in death.
“It gives you a fear of riding around in the city that we grew up in,” Miles said.
They are joining Kenya Wallace, who lost her son in 2020, and other mothers who have lost their children. Although not all died from gun violence, it’s a cause they can all get behind.
They’re planning a “Guns Down March” for this Saturday, July 1.
“If I can prevent another mother from feeling what I have to feel every single day,” said Wallace.
They’re pleading for the community to join them, hoping that in the future, they don’t have to meet even more victims’ families at that cemetery.
“If we don’t stop what’s going on now, my grandchildren won’t have a future,” Miles said.
The march on Saturday will start at the Midtown Cultural and Educational Center at 10 a.m. The organizers ask those who attend to wear orange.
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