COLUMBUS, Ohio — So far in 2024, the city of Columbus is seeing a decline the in number of homicides compared to last year with the number currently at 67, according to recent data from police.
The local nonprofit Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children is hoping to see those numbers continue to decline.
The group put on their second Victim Awareness March on Saturday, filling the streets of downtown Columbus with their powerful messages.
Lela Stanley's younger brother was killed earlier this year.
"The people who took him, they don't know what they took. The biggest part of our life, the one that held us together, the mold," said Stanley.
Like Stanley, other families carried pictures of their lost loved ones while they marched the streets of downtown.
"We keep fighting. We keep fighting for mothers and fathers. We keep fighting," said Rhonda Clayborn with Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children.
The group's goal this year is to keep the homicide number under triple digits.
"Right now we are under 40% violent crime across the board, so the message is being received. However, one death is one too many," said Columbus Police First Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts.
With just over four months left in the year, the community is hopeful that the city's homicide numbers will stay on the decline.
"If we save a city, we're saving a state. If we save a state, we're saving a nation," Clayborn said.