KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — It was a religious and municipal show of force at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Kalamazoo as the area’s pastors came together with city officials to take a stand against the kind of violence that has shocked the nation since a lone gunman killed 9 at a prayer service in Charleston.
They said if the gunman hoped to jam a wedge between the white and African American communities with his shameful act of violence, then he had only succeeded in driving them closer together.
What seemed to shock them the most was that the gunman actually sat through a hour of the prayer service, listened to what was being said and still stood up, pulled out a gun and started shooting.
Several members of the AME Church, including a few who had met some of the victims also spoke personally of the loss of life and of talent and potential that was stolen from the community Wednesday night.
They vowed to work together on some local effort to combat the kind of hate that fueled this week’s violence.
