Watch the full report from WTVR CBS 6 Photojournalist Ben Montgomery in the video player above.
RICHMOND, Va. — An event in Richmond aimed to give people a constructive way to channel their emotions before those emotions turn deadly.
Community members came together at Diversity Richmond on Friday for "RVA Gloves Up Gun Down" to box, shop from vendors, and connect, all with the goal of steering people away from gun violence.
"We thought that it would be a great outlet to let youngins and let adults who deal with trauma to get into the ring and fight it out instead of resulting in gun violence," said Edward Green, who worked to coordinate the event.
Organizers said the event drew their largest turnout yet.
"It's something good to come together," said Charmelle Baskerville, owner of Zamyni Beautiful Creations, a vendor at the event. "You can get your mind, not to really like forget about what happened, but to put your mind in a different headspace so you can see that there is positivity that does go on here, and not everywhere is negative energy. This is somewhere you can come, everyone coming together, and so many people being in one place and it's just being a peaceful place. That's what I like the most."
The event was Tiffany Perry's first time boxing.
"I think I did pretty well for the first time boxing," Perry said. "I only trained like 2 months. I did it for fun. I did it to support, so I think I did very well. The favorite part of the event is how the city comes out to support this event. Just to look out there and see all the people that's out there supporting — it's really good."
Organizers say the message of the event is simple.
"If you can fight and live to see another day, that's the message," Edward Green said. "You can fight out your problems, shake hands at the end of the day, and go home to your families. We're tired of seeing gun violence, for real."
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