Chicago Survivors hosts 12th annual 'National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The many faces of gun violence in Chicago were plastered Sunday outside of the Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park, where dozens of people gathered inside to remember the many lives lost to gun violence, not only in Chicago, but across the country.

The vigil also marked 12 years since the Sandy Hook school mass shooting.

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"We're in a state that we need each other more than ever," said Afrika Porter, whose son was shot and killed. "We need each other more than ever."

The room harbored the grief of many, whose pain fuels a mission to make sure that feeling isn't spread.

"Can we commit, today, that we're going to check on each other more?" Porter said.

The commitment is more than a decade strong. Chicago Survivors hosted the "12th National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence in Chicago" Sunday night, embracing families of homicide victims while calling on the end to gun violence across the country.

"We have felt the rippling impact each bullet carries through its path," Illinois Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton said. "We understand that it's not just enough to respond to gun violence, but we have to do more to prevent it."

Gun violence is a tragic trend that ripped two of Delphine Cherry's children from her life.

"It tore my life apart," Cherry said.

Her daughter, 16-year-old Tyesa Abney, was killed by a stray bullet in 1992. That's when Cherry was pregnant with her son, Tyler Randolph, who was gunned down 20 years later. His case remains unsolved.

"When Sandy Hook happened, literally, I was in my bed just weeping for those children who got murdered," Cherry said. "Eleven days later my son was killed."

The 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, organizers say, became the catalyst for their nationwide vigil, bringing together survivors each year and amplifying their voices, like Beverly Dines, who lived a mere block away during the July 4, 2022, Highland Park parade shooting.

"The perfect survivor is the last one," Dines said. "And so, how do we come together to ensure that we are acknowledging all of our backgrounds towards a change that means no more gun violence for everyone?"

Organizers say they will continue to push for gun reform in Illinois and nationwide.