On Feb. 14, a shooting on Spencer Avenue resulted in the death of Deon T. Nelms. Cornelius C. Reese was arrested on a felony warrant charging him with the murder.
The community members around Spencer Avenue have decided to march to raise crime awareness so their community won’t fall victim to another serious crime.
Stephen Faulk, pastor of Auburn AME Zion Church, and Pamela Pitts, member of Auburn AME Zion Church, decided to organize a march from their church to Spencer Avenue.
“We are really wanting to let the community, especially those who are in that area, know that we are very, very unhappy and dissatisfied with the crime that has taken place,” Faulk said. “We are wanting the police department, the sheriff’s department and anyone else in law enforcement who can do different things in the community to understand that the community does not endorse this type of behavior.”
Pitts has been before Auburn City Council to discuss their plan to march. Pitts said they are trying to pull some other people from the community, including students, to participate in the march.
“It’s not just over there on Spencer,” Pitts said. “We’ve had a number of shootings on Longleaf. We really want to step forward with the police and address the issues that are going on in the communities.”
Police Chief Paul Register said APD has officers who patrol that area daily.
Register said, the night of the shooting, their officer was the first person to arrive because they were a few blocks away patrolling when they heard the gunfire. The officer responded before anybody called.
“The only disappointing thing I’ll say about that night is that nobody called us about that shooting,” Register said. “We were there because that officer heard the shooting.”
Register said he has not been contacted by any churches, but said he invites the public to talk to him personally if they have any issues.
Faulk said the march will start at AME Zion Church and go to Spencer Avenue, where they will rally, sing and pray, and then march back around to the church.
“If this had been a white person killing a black person or shooting a black person in the neighborhood, you know everybody would have been up in arms, but this is black on black,” Faulk said. “Black on black crime is just as worse as even a white person killing a black person, or a police killing a black person, because we need to start valuing life regardless to whose life it is and who takes the life.”
Register said police patrolling in that area are very visible, but since the incident they have made sure that they were even more visible.
“I’m wanting to pull in pastors of all the churches in the community, parents of children who attend the school, University, everybody I think needs to help send a message that we value life and regardless to who does the killing, who does the shooting, it is wrong,” Faulk said.
The march will take place Saturday, April 25, at 9:30 a.m.
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