Valdosta neighbors seeks change amid rising gun violence

• Israel United in Christ hosted a Youth Violence seminar in Valdosta to address the rising youth violence in the community.
• Jacquelyn "Jackie" Johnson, mother of Kendrick Johnson, joined them to advocate for Valdosta's youth after her own son's death in 2013.
• Watch the video to hear from them on how they want the community to tackle the issue.

BRODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Recent crime spikes have neighbors are calling for changing in the Valdosta, including a family who has been seeking answers since 2013.

"I've been... existing for the last 11 years."

I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter.

I'm learning just how neighbors are planning on making a change.

This is Jacquelyn "Jackie" Johnson, mother to Kendrick Johnson, who's body was found rolled top in a gym mat at Lowndes High School January 2013.

"I started a new life once his was taken, cause I got to learn to live without him."

Kendrick's death was ruled an accident, and while the Johnson family still doesn't agree with that ruling, Jackie tells me she has been focusing her efforts on keeping her son's name alive.

"My favorite memory will always be Kendrick and his sister. He would come home from football practice all with and sweat and stuff and he would dive directly on her back while she was in the bed and she would jump up and chase him and they would be running through the house and he would just be laughing so hard."

Since Kendrick's death, Jackie has been advocating not only for her son, but Valdosta's youth as well.

"Where are the mentors in this city? We got over 300, 400 churches, but nobody is standing up. Nobody is helping our youth when our youth is just attacking each other, killing each other."

Jackie joined Israelite United in Christ for a Youth Violence seminar Saturday in an effort to reach out to the community.

Gun violence in Valdosta has gone up with 14 incidents this year; homicides jumped from 2 to 14 per 100,000 since 2019.

"One of the reasons the violence is happening is because we don't know who we are."

Bishop Yawsup Israel tells me he believes spreading a message of hope and positive its will bring those numbers down.

"There's a thing called misplaced aggression when the people don't when when the people has robbed of hope. Let's say, like the Bible says, where there is no vision, the people perish. That's heavy."

Despite the rise, Valdosta's violent crime rate at 350 remains below the national average's 370. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.