COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s the side of violence that many people might not see: the pain and the endless heartache for so many people living in Columbus.
On Thursday, people met on Rich Street Bridge for the Lock of Love ceremony. The group Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children holds this event often. The mothers add locks that are carved with the names of their loved ones taken by violence to the bridge.
"It's heartache, pain. Some days, I can be good. Some days it’s a bad day,” said Anita Akins, who lost her son Carlos Hardiman Jr. in March 2012. She added a lock for her son during Thursday's ceremony.
Carlos' sister Lia Baker was with him that night when the two were at a family member’s house sitting outside in the car when someone drove by and started shooting.
Baker said her brother was hit in the head and was pronounced brain-dead a day later.
He was only 19 years old, and his case is still unsolved.
“He couldn't even make it out of his teens,” said Baker. “I try to keep him with me and fill his strength in me, to keep me going, but it's hard.”
Their family and many others echo the need for common-sense gun laws. That was the message city and state leaders have been pushing for.
"It's just people that lack that common sense of having [a gun] and it's basically these young kids, it's the young kids that are carrying them and thinking it's cool,” said Baker.
Members with MOMCC said they don’t want their organization to grow in membership. That’s why they hope their message resonates with someone.
"This is the effect that will happen if they keep doing the things that they're doing,” said Akins.