NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A large group dressed in orange gathered at King-Lincoln Park in Newport News on Saturday.
The "Wear Orange" event against gun violence joined others across the region and the United States. Wear Orange Weekend is an effort started by organization Everytown For Gun Safety and follows National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 3.
Moms Demand Action Peninsula and Students Demand Action also helped organize the Newport News-based event, which included several families directly impacted by gun violence.
Local and state politicians also came out, including Democratic Virginia legislators, Del. Shelly Simonds and Sen. Monty Mason.
This year's event comes on the heels of high-profile mass shootings across the United States and a seemingly never-ending string of local shootings.
Mayor Donnie Tuck of Hampton arrived wearing orange hours after three men were shot in his city. Tuck tells News 3 he's currently working with other local mayors to find solutions.
"We have what’s called a roadmap to try and temp down or reduce the amount of gun violence in our community and so we have implemented that. We have family outreach individuals who are out in the community trying to talk to some individuals who might either be involved or have been involved," he said. "(Also) individuals that have returned from incarceration who want to try and help heal their communities."
Local nonprofit The HEB Foundation also had a tent at the Wear Orange event. The organization — founded in honor of Raghib Brooks, who was shot and killed in 2018 — works to connect to kids and families most likely to be impacted by gun violence.
