Community rallies for change after shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.

ByAshley Johnson WPVI logo
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Community rallies for change after shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.
Community rallies for change on Tuesday morning after shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in West Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Neighbors in West Philadelphia showed what hope looks like along 60th Street after a night of unrest sparked by the killing of Walter Wallace Jr.

"I'm cleaning up today because I live here. I'm not with anybody getting paid or an organization," said resident D' Aaroa Washington, who along with neighbors, aren't waiting on change. They're determined to be the change.

"I'm not out here pointing fingers. I'm not asking questions. I just want the community to feel like we care about one another because everyone wasn't out here to steal or to put a bad name on Walter Wallace Jr.," she said. "Rest in peace to that man."

Around the corner, pastors were getting ready to attend a community meeting at Christian Compassion Church Tuesday evening. The focus is on healing.

"How can we support this family and their loss?" Pastor Harrod Clay questioned.

He says a big solution is going back to community policing.

"What would have happened if these two police officers were familiar with this family?" Clay asked.

Mother's In Charge, a violence prevention, education and intervention-based organization, has been advocating for Philadelphia to get a trauma center.

"They need to have resources that will show them where they can get help with dealing with the issue first and foremost, somebody that's going to direct them to some sort of therapy," Renee McDonald of Mother's In Charge said.