Memorial objects collected to honor victims of gun violence in Jackson

At Different World Church in Jackson, survivors of gun violence organized an event to memorialize people who have been shot and killed.

"People forget stories behind those who lost their lives to gun violence," Lorenzo Neal said.

Neal is a local pastor and an organizer with Everytown for Gun Safety. The organization partnered with Moms Demand Action and local churches in Jackson to collect memorial items from survivors of gun violence.

"We read the headlines. We see the statistics, but we forget the names and the people. This project is dedicated to that, it highlights those memories and those stories," Neal said.

People donated items like photos, toys and obituaries that will become a part of the National Gun Violence Memorial Project at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. Tonjula Mason Shelby brought an item in honor of her son, Kimondra Mason, who was shot and killed in Jackson in 2017.

"I want people to know that he was loved, that he was special. He meant something to me. I never want his name to be unspoken," Shelby said.

Homicides in the capital city reached record highs the last two years. Most incidents have been gun-related. Shelby said gun violence has impacted her and her native city of Jackson in many ways.

"People are living in fear here. You know, you’re worried that, OK, when will be the next individual? I mean, at what point do we put a stop to it? We have to make a change. We have to. If we don’t, it’s going to continue to happen," Shelby said.

This weekend at the state fairgrounds, a teen was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer after the teen and one to two other people opened fire at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival.