PETERSBURG, Va., — Drivers who travel down Halifax Street in Petersburg are noticing a stark, sobering reminder of the consequences of gun violence.
A casket sits beside a hearse outside of Tabernacle Baptist Church to advertise the city’s Saturday gun buyback event.
“The number of deaths, the number of funerals — we've got to change the message,” Dr. George W. Lyons, pastor at Gillfield Baptist Church, said. “I think our community, our city, is absolutely tired of the anguish and the violence.”
Pastor Lyons’ church at 209 Perry Street will host the gun buyback event from 8:30 a.m. through 12 p.m. Saturday in partnership with Community Transformation Foundation and Petersburg Police.
“I'd much rather spend my time as a pastor mediating between two people who have a disagreement versus burying a young person who dies senselessly needlessly,” Pastor Lyons explained.
Participants will receive $250 for assault rifles, $150 for handguns and shotguns, and $0 for inoperable weapons.
“We want some parents to bring their young person who has a gun who should not, who doesn't even have a driver's permit, to say, ‘Let's bury your gun so that we don't have to bury you,” Lyons stated.
Tabernacle Baptist Church at 418 Halifax Street will host a Joy Run/Walk 2k-5k also on Saturday at 8:30am until 12 p.m.
Pastor Robert A Diggs Sr.’s event will also include a health fair with screenings and vaccinations for children and COVID-19 and the flu.
“It takes about 21 days to form a new habit, max 30 days. A lot of people became couch potatoes and we want to get them off the couch, get them out fresh air, breathe in the air that God provides, and provide a new life with physical activity,” Pastor Diggs said.
The goal is to inspire the community to get active again. The event is organized in partnership with Community Transformers Foundation (CTF).
“Petersburg is a city that historically has not done very well as it relates to health care,” Donald Barrow, CTF founder, said. “We want to change that dynamic. We want to help individuals live their best life.”
You can register for the Joy Run/Walk here.
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