JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two parents who lost their children to gun violence are trying to do their part to prevent more bloodshed in Jacksonville by hosting events to promote peace in the community.
At least 47 people have died by homicide so far in 2023, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The two organizers say their personal tragedies pushed them to do work that can lead to change.
Robert LeCount, the pastor of Disciples of Christ Christian Fellowship on Edgewood Avenue, said his son, Jamard, was killed more than 20 years ago on Soutel Drive.
“I always wonder what type of life he would have had if he would have had an opportunity to live,” LeCount said Thursday. “Would he be a family man? How many kids would he have had?”
Jamard was shot and killed at the age of 21, outside of what used to be an old skating rink after an argument with two other men. His father said it was considered a self-defense homicide.
LeCount makes it his mission to prevent other parents from experiencing his pain. He is doing so by hosting his second bike ride on Moncrief Road to end violence in the community.
It is all through the organization LeCount started called Quench the Violence.
“When I am over here, I just thank God for the little time that I was able to share with my son for 21 years,” LeCount said. “This is a way of me being able to make peace with what happened to my son, but it is also a way for me to be able to help somebody not to go through what I had to deal with as a father.”
Rekita Jones understands LeCount’s pain. Her daughter, Alexcia Anderson, was gunned down in January. She and her friend were heading home after a night celebrating the Jags’ playoff win.
Jones said the two women were cut off by one vehicle, then someone from another car shot at them, hitting them both.
Anderson’s friend survived, but Anderson died at a hospital. She was just 25 years old and left behind a 1-year-old daughter. No one has been arrested in the case.
“She was a very good person,” Jones said about her daughter. “She was an honor roll student in high school. She was actually set to start her nursing program for her nursing degree this August.”
Jones is sponsoring a movie night through the foundation she created in her own daughter’s honor: “In her Innocence: The Alexcia Anderson Foundation.”
Kids and their parents will be able to watch The Super Mario Bros. movie Friday night in the vacant field across the street from the Legends Center.
Both Jones and LeCount are using their resources to make a difference.
“The violence has to stop,” Jones said. “There are too many parents and too many families that are broken. They are losing their children. Now, innocent children are being affected and innocent individuals, adults are being affected by the traumas.”
“We are just trying to make awareness and try to make sure that we help someone, some parent, or help some kid not lose their life,” LeCount said.
The movie night starts around 7 p.m. on Friday.
The bike ride Saturday starts at 10 a.m. at Greater Mt. Salem Baptist Church. Once the ride ends, there will be food, games and music for everyone to enjoy until 4 p.m.