RICHMOND, Va. -- The impacts of the tragic shooting at a Texas elementary school is being felt around the country, including in Richmond.
The Richmond Public Schools community came together on Thursday night for a healing event to help the community process the recent gun violence across the nation and locally in Central Virginia.
Ram Bhagat works with the Drums No Guns foundation.
"We're trying to find peace with each other and trying to deal with those overwhelming feelings. When people come together and share their stories with each other and develop trust, then it helps," Bhagat said.
The group started community healing circles last April after a tragic shooting at the Belt Atlantic apartments that killed a mom and a baby and injured three others.
The circle hosted on Thursday night was already planned before the mass shootings in Texas and New York. It was also planned before the recent shooting death of a Henrico high school student.
"After the shooting and after the news and the stories, that's an everyday reality our youth has to live with and that stays with them," Allan Charles Chipman, a speaker, said.
"Thinking about gun violence, it makes me feel hurt and more so angry. Like, I get angry when I hear, especially like in the neighborhood that we're in, we have our own people killing each other," Naomi Lofton, a high school student, said.
Lofton was encouraged on Thursday to see people of all different backgrounds showing an interest in her community, knowing that the grief is shared.
"Just having a conversation with these people. It just made me feel really welcome," Lofton said.
