COLUMBUS, Ohio — At 14 years old, Kyle Holbrook lost his childhood friend and teammate to gun violence. Since then, he's helped bury 46 loved ones, all victims of gun violence.
"My uncle, he was one of the first Black colonels in Vietnam. He lost less friends than me and he's been to Vietnam fighting a war," he said.
To spread awareness about the issue and because Columbus continues to see a spike in gun violence, he painted an outside mural in the Short North Arts District. It's part of a "Gun Violence Awareness National Tour" to all 50 states.
"Hopefully, families of lost loved ones can come together, because a lot of times you need that support system," he said.
In 2002, Holbrook created Moving the Lives of Kids Community Mural Project (MLK Mural), a public arts organization that focuses on the arts, youth development, and education. His vision was to use public art as a way to reach kids over the summer months to do positive community work when they were not in school.
His latest mural came to the Short North less than 24 hours after a man was shot and killed near the United Dairy Farmers convenience store on the 800 block of North High Street.
Around 1:40 a.m., officers found Nicholas Evans, 51, in an alleyway behind UDF. Court records show Evans was involved in an altercation with Jeremy Vest, 47, and another party when Vest pulled out a firearm and shot Evans.
Police said Evan stumbled to the back door of the store before he collapsed. People inside the store called 911.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was back to business as usual. 10TV spoke with a mother and daughter as they explored the area ahead of her freshman semester.
"This is our first time in Ohio and it's the unknown. So, it's a little scary," said Barbara Lewis.
"It makes me obviously nervous. I feel like in any kind of city like the possibility of violence," her daughter, Ava Lewis said.