Community leaders still working to curb Salisbury violence

Shattered glass still lines the pavement where two people were shot and killed Saturday morning in Salisbury.

Al Heggins, one of Salisbury's community leaders, is working to pick up the pieces.

“I'm a mother. I have sons, I have daughters,” Heggins said. “We have grandsons and we don't want to see this happening to anyone's family.”

Heggins is part of local group Women for Community Justice.

This spring, Heggins and more than 200 others joined forces in a community summit and then came up with an action plan to stop the violence.

The final product listed eight different categories, but tops on the list was mitigating violent crime.

“We want to get our community to a point that everyone understands that, yes conflict is difficult, but it's transformational,” Heggins said. “We can work through it without losing lives.”

Across the street was Saturday morning’s shooting, local shops reopened, even with the piercing effect of violence.

“Business has got to go on, but they've just got to talk to their customers, try to make them feel safe,” business owner Machemeh Dolley said.

Community members were already scheduled to meet next month regarding that action plan.

Leaders said they are working on a program to deal with conflict resolution.

“We're a strong community, so we're not going to stop. We're going to keep pushing forward. We're not going to be deterred," Heggins said.

Cox Media Group