ST. LOUIS – Hundreds of high school students across the St. Louis area are coming together to take a stand against youth violence, inspired by the tragic loss of a beloved classmate.
There was a large student turnout Monday morning in north St. Louis, as the students turned their grief into action.
Hundreds of students, families, and community leaders gathered to walk nearly three miles in honor of Isis Mahr, a 2020 Cardinal Ritter graduate and assistant coach, who was killed in October 2021.
Atif Mahr, Mahr’s father, said she was an innocent bystander caught in the middle of a gun battle.
“My daughter’s legacy or name will keep going on in a positive manner towards ending gun violence, that they’ve taken it to heart, and they are going to keep this movement going,” he said.
The march began at the Wohl Community Center in north St. Louis, where several speeches were delivered before participants marched to Cardinal Ritter.
“We are using this to celebrate her life and make sure people know more about gun violence,” Kaleigh, a student, said.
Students from Cardinal Ritter, CBC, and other schools participated in the march, showing solidarity in the fight against gun violence. The St. Louis police escorted the students, ensuring the safety of the participants as they made their way through the city.
“Excite our young people and challenge them and then support them as they take the responsibility of addressing violence and the cultural violence that’s steeped in their community right now,” James Clark, Vice President of Public Safety for the Urban League, said.
Some students from CBC wore shirts honoring Colin Brown, a CBC student who was killed by a stray bullet on I-55, highlighting the personal impact of gun violence on their community.
“It does not matter what race, what color, just stop the killing with each other,” Donald Clark, a student, said. “And let’s just try to come together as a whole, like we are doing today.”
The march, described by organizers as a “Movement Not A Moment,” underscores the ongoing effort to combat gun violence and keep the momentum alive in the community.
“These are our future leaders. They wont always be 16, 17, 18 years old,” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said. “So, I hope that the remember this moment as a time where they all got activated around a cause that they all cared about and I hope that it leads them to be more active in participate in our system.”