Students pledge to fight against gun violence in Chester County

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — From pen to paper, students in Chester County made a pledge to themselves and their friends Wednesday morning.

October 16 marks the National Day of Concern for Young People and Gun Violence, and Chester Middle School decided to not shy away from bringing awareness to the topic.

Hundreds of students gathered in the auditorium as school officials and law enforcement led conversations on how to fight against gun violence.

“We’re here to support them and help them to diffuse things before it evolves into something that involves these weapons,” said Chester County School District Superintendent Antwon Sutton.

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Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey said he has seen the horror of gun violence and what it takes from people.

“We’ve had some recent incidents of gun violence that were just horrific, and they’ve impacted our entire county,” Dorsey elaborated.

Brooks Andrews, the first assistant to the United States Attorney, also reminded students that decisions come with consequences.

“We really want to prevent the violence in the first place, and to do that, we really need to be out in the community,” Andrews explained. If they bring a gun and they use that gun and somebody is hurt accidentally or killed, those consequences can be catastrophic.”

This is why Sharonda Starks said she’s constantly having talks with her children who are students in the district.

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“I try to keep them involved in the school, you know, participate in parent meetings and all that. And, you know, speak with them about violence,” Starks elaborated.

Starks went on to say she believes those conversations should also start at home.

“I’m a strong believer that it starts at home. We have to help them, help us, and help the teachers in the school,” Starks said.

As for the students, they pledged to remember their choices and make a difference.

“I just feel that there’s no point using violence when you have peace, and we should all just stop using guns at the school,” one student said.

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