Parents, community hold prayer vigil for student killed near Bellingrath

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Torrian Hamilton and the other members of Positive Parents Have Power organized a prayer vigil on Tuesday afternoon in honor of Jaquerria Timmons, who died in a shooting near Bellingrath Middle School Monday. The event was held on the front law of Saint James Missionary Baptist Church #2, the crime scene of Monday's shooting.

The group passed out snacks to students and prayed for them as they passed, while walking home from school. As students passed, some joined the group in prayer.

Event organizers and participants also surrounded Timmons' brother and cousins Tuesday. They held a group prayer and community members who have lost loved ones to violent shootings gave their testimonies in the prayer circle.

Some of Timmons' family members, including her older brother, were in the circle. They held a poster with Timmons' face on it. Though family members are not ready to give interviews, they said Timmons was preparing for 8th grade prom and graduation.

Many MPD officers joined the crowd for prayer and support, including Chief Earnest Finley.

While police and city officials have answered more questions, members of the community feel those answers aren't necessarily solutions.

Some parents have even considered pulling their children out of the school as a solution.

"I am trying to move him to another school because it's very frightening now, it's very crucial now," Benita Lowery said.

Moving their children to another school is not possible for everyone, however. Community leaders say everyone needs a better tomorrow.

Angela Fields says, "It's about figuring out a way to reach them, and let them know that they need God."

"We need prayer," Lowery says. "Children to need to be prayed for and prayed over."

On Monday, some parents blamed the incident on a lack of police presence in the area after school, but parent Furlesia Bell says that's not the problem, especially since so many continuously come out for community events like these.

"Officers show up, and I've seen them," Bell says. "It's not because anybody makes them come. It's because, after talking to them I realized, they want to be here."

Bell and other organizers say, the problems need to be solved before kids head to school.

"It starts as a community. It starts as a village," Bell says.

This group wasn't the only one that had a moment of silence for the loss of Timmons' life. The Montgomery City Council had a moment of silence as well before its meeting Tuesday.

Positive Parents Have Power will hold another anti-violence event Saturday at 10 a.m. at Gateway Park.

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