Franklin officials mourn victim of gun violence

FRANKLIN -- A community prayer vigil was held June 30 in Franklin for Rock Jones, who was killed in an act of gun violence.
She was killed by a stray gunshot recently.
The Police Department received several calls of shots fired in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard, including a call from the victim who stated that he was shot and believed that his mother was shot as well.
Officers found 42-year-old male victim, and officers also located a deceased woman, 65.
The man was transported by Acadian Ambulance to a local hospital.
During the vigil held on Martin Luther King Boulevard, Mayor Eugene Foulcard gave an impassioned plea to prevent any further tragedies.
“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Foulcard quoted scripture. “For they shall be called children of God.
“As I look around this crowd I ask one rhetorical question: Am I my brother’s keeper?...What have you done in this call to action that I’m doing right now to make a difference to end this gun violence in Franklin? The voice of my brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”
He said Police Chief Morris Beverly, the Police Department and the City Council have “been fighting the good fight, I know what it feels like.
"Please hear my cries. Enough is enough! I’ve heard moans and cries of my mother; five blocks away from here my nephew was killed on October 23, 2016, at the corner of MLK and Augustine Maze Street. A month later, my sister and my brother-in-law lost their son. … I know what those crimes feel like.”
The mayor defended the city’s response to the violence, saying, “We’ve been doing all we can possibly do, with the assistance of the Sheriff’s Department and other entities, federal officials as well, we demand justice, we will not stop until we find out who did that evil deed. This is a classic battle of good versus evil…my prayers for this city is that we put these guns down.”
Sheriff Blaise Smith, saying he lives on the corner of Pecot and Talbot Streets, “If we had a beef, we went to the graveyard or we went to the park. We threw a couple knuckles, and when we got it done, we shook each others’ hands. And that was it. We need a lot more hand-shaking.
“One of the things Jesus was full of and what we’ve lost in the community is compassion. Jesus was on the cross, they nailed him to the cross and did all kinds of things to him, but what did he say? ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ We have to ask for forgiveness now.”
“I stand and ask for your help to give Rock Jones," Police Chief Morris Beverly said.
"Reach out in your heart and please help our Police Department bring the people that did this to jail.
“Rock was a real person deserving more than what she got.”