Religious, political and community leaders in San Francisco were brought together Monday to demand action following the deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
“It's evil, it’s un-American and it does not have the right to exist,” said Rev. Amos Brown at San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, condemning hatred and bringing together community leaders from all across the Bay Area.
This in response to Saturday’s shooting in Buffalo that killed 10, and to propose local policies to prevent something like that from happening here.
“We in San Francisco acknowledge that this city is not immune from the same violence,” he said.
Investigators said the18-year-old suspect was wearing full body armor and tactical gear, had driven 200 miles to get to Buffalo, and was live-streaming the horror online as he shouted racist slurs at his mostly Black victims.
“We must stand together in peace because if we are together in peace there’s one thing I remember as a child of the 60s and that is power to the people,” said Yulanda Williams of San Francisco NAACP.
District Attorney Chesa Boudin was also in attendance.
“We have to be proactive. We have to find ways to build bridges, and spread love and solidarity and support,” he said.
Rev. Brown, who once marched and rallied with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has announced a rally Wednesday at 12 p.m. at City Hall, to continue his message of hope and peace.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.