Anti-gun violence march in Rock Hill set for Friday after shooting left 3 teens dead
Some Rock Hill residents will march on Friday.
Stop The Violence of Rock Hill and York County, a local group dedicated to promoting community safety and “helping family and friends come together as one,” has planned a march to protest gun violence. It’s set for 6 p.m. Friday at Fountain Park in Rock Hill.
The event was organized after a Rock Hill shooting incident on Tuesday that left three teens dead. The investigation remains ongoing, The Herald reported Friday morning.
Maurice Sutter, a lead organizer of the event and a leader in Rock Hill’s local Black Lives Matter chapter, told The Herald that part of the reason for organizing the rally is to get leaders’ attention focused on the city’s gun violence issue.
“I’m not going to say this is going to be the end of gun violence,” Sutter said in an interview Friday. “But I am going to say that us as leaders and city council and the mayor — if we don’t put a stop to this and create more things for these teenagers, Rock Hill is going to continue to get worse. We’re building houses and storage units and everything else, but we’re not building nothing for these kids.”
Sutter also said he is advocating for Ahmik Coleman.
Coleman, 17, was charged Wednesday as an adult with two counts of murder, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald from the Rock Hill police department.
Sutter said he is trying to help raise funds for a defense attorney for Coleman. A gofund.me campaign started Friday morning for that purpose, and has attracted more than 50 donors and had raised just under $2,000 by time of this article’s online publication.
Fountain Park has been the gathering place of many social movements in Rock Hill in just the last few years, none larger than the city’s peaceful rally against police brutality after the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 12:43 PM.
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