MONTREAL -- Mohammed Abdul Sayum marched in the streets of Little Burgundy Tuesday night in memory of his son, who was killed earlier this month.
"I lost my son. I'm crying, my wife is crying," he said. "I don't want another mother crying."
He, along with numerous other Montrealers, walked to promote peace and advocate for an end to gun violence in the Sud-Ouest borough.
"It's a proud moment for me because, peacefully, people are coming out to say no more guns, no more deaths," said Sheena Singh, a Little Burgundy resident.
With worries about an increasing gang presence in the community, Michael Farkas, with Prévention Sud-Ouest, says he organized the march in the hopes of bringing people together.
"The first step was grieving, but the second step is walking together and showing solidarity for all the people that believe this is possible," he said.
The march was planned in light of two recent shootings in the area.
Late Sunday night, a young woman was injured after a gunshot was fired into the windshield of the vehicle she was in.
On July 3, the body of 21-year-old Suman Mohammed Sayum was found in a car in the parking lot of an apartment building at the corner of Canning and Workman streets.
"We know a lot of people in the community need help. It's in the talk. When we're talking, we're able to find solutions," said Frénel Buissereth with Prévention Sud-Ouest.
Montreal police says it has increased its presence in the area following the violent attacks.
"We can't bring peace alone. We need citizens to work with the police force to make sure our investigations progress," said Jean-Marc Schanzenbach, police chief of Station 15.
