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'We've had a lot of terrors going on:' Dublin community marches to stop violence

Community members, ministers, police officers, and families who lost their kids to violence marched through Dublin neighborhoods Saturday

DUBLIN, Ga. — In the last two weeks, the city of Dublin has seen two violent crimes.

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Now neighbors, law enforcement, and city officials are looking for ways to stop the violence from spreading.

"I'm fired up, can't take no more. I'm fired up, can't take no more," chanted ministers, police officers, community members, and families while walking, to shed light on violence in Dublin. 

"The gang members are our sons, our daughters, and our nephews," says event organizer Charles Sumblin. "As I stand before you and speak, my nephew is in jail right now for one of the homicides that took place in Laurens County."

Sumblin leads the march down city streets, hoping people living nearby hear their chants. 

"We're here to sound the alarm to let them know we have to do something different. We have to take this thing seriously, because we don't want this problem to actually contaminate the entire community," says Sumblin. 

In the last few years, people living around Dublin say they have noticed an increase in violence.

"We've had a lot of killing, we've had a lot of shooting up houses, we've had a lot of terrors going on," says Jacob Snell. 

They walk in hope of bringing it out of their neighborhoods. 

"I don't believe the young men want to do that, I think they have a problem, and we need to talk to them and find out what they need, and what can we do to help them," says Snell. 

Greensboro Municipal Court Judge, Dexter Wimbish, says he has seen an influx in murder cases roll through court rooms.

"As a member of the legal system, I do a lot of criminal justice work, and we're seeing that young people are getting involved in gangs at earlier ages," says Wimbish.

He marches to find solutions.

"There are better ways to get these individuals involved in our community rather than turn to lives of crime and violence," says Wimbish. 

Heaven's Haven Baptist Church Minister Clifford Hunter says, "Right now we need this change, we can't ignore the fact that these kids are dying daily." 

They wear t-shirts and hold banners of young kids who died to violence, to leave a lasting impression, and hopefully make a difference.

Organizer Charles Sumblin says he is working to plan more events like the march in the future.

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