'Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters" held its third annual New Year's Day prayer vigil for city homicide victims.
The group was joined by community leaders at the corner of Greenmount Avenue and North Avenue on Friday morning. They read the names and ages of everyone killed in the city in 2015, while praying for a fresh start in 2016.
"I can't even grieve the loss of my son. It's been 7 years," said organizer Daphne Alston. "Every day I look, it's another mother, another father, another grandmother."
The list included children as young as 1 year old, as well as Freddie Gray, whose death sparked city wide protests in April.
Cynthia Bruce's son Marcus was shot 14 times in July.
"My child was nurtured, was given the best home and he was taken away from me at the snap of a shot," she said.
The group is calling on city residents, particularly young people, to stop tolerating violence in their neighborhoods. They also pledge to continue showing Baltimore the real impact of homicide year after year.
