Peace rally in support of victims shot at San Francisco Mission District block party

SAN FRANCISCO - Community members held a peace rally in San Francisco's Mission District Tuesday evening, hoping to create a space for healing after the June 9 shooting that injured nine people at a family block party. 

"Today we are here to heal. It begins with our heart, our soul, our spirit," said Roberto Hernandez, a long-time community activist in the Mission District and executive producer of Carnaval San Francisco. 

The rally at the corner of Mission and 24th Streets was organized by the Mission Peace Collaborative, a coalition of community groups that work together to reduce violence. 

Organizers said that on the night of the shooting, children and teenagers were at the scene and saw friends get shot. Some of the youth ran to help. 

"When their friends needed them the most, when they saw that people were hurt, they immediately went into action. They were applying pressure. They were trying to do tourniquets. They were trying to take care of those who were wounded," said Susana Rojas, a Mission Peace Collaborative Member

San Francisco police later detained a person of interest, Javier Campos, who investigators say is an alleged Sureno gang member.

At the rally, however, community members said the victims are not gang members and they believe this is not a gang shooting..

"The thing with the Mission Peace Collaborative that's very powerful is that they work directly with the families. And there was nothing here with Sureño or Norteño. There was nothing gang…it was a young man with mental health problems," said Francisco Herrera of the Latino Task Force Street Needs Committee.

Some young people at the rally said it is stressful seeing so many shootings in the Bay Area.

"It's like you can't really go places and not have to worry about your safety, 'cause everywhere you go you're going to run into some kind of trouble," said Christian Lebaron, 20, of Pittsburg, "Gun violence is not okay. Rest in peace to all the people who got shot during the shooting."

"People don't care. They don't care who's out. If they see somebody ..they're going to try and hurt them" said Julien Lopez of Antioch, "Sometimes I feel I might end up at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"We have the ability to come together, create the kind of protocols and support to keep a place that will be safe from violence," said Rojas, "I think the city can fund programs that are violence prevention and diversion. I think the city can also do more healing and understanding."