NEW ORLEANS- Huddled together in prayer on the 3400 block of South Claiborne Avenue, family and friends of the victim's of Saturday's mass shooting gathered at the very spot where the carnage took place. They sent out a powerful message.
"I don't want you to feel sorry for me! I just want the violence to stop," Robin Jackson, the mother of Kurshaw Jackson said.
The shooting left three people dead and seven others wounded.
Robin Jackson, the mother of 38-year-old Kurshaw Jackson, who was shot and killed, stood next to his brother and his girlfriend on a day she should be celebrating her own birthday. Instead, she's mourning the loss of her son.
"Put the guns down. I'm begging you from the bottom of my heart. What a birthday gift!? But I'm standing strong," Jackson said.
"He didn't deserve this! He didn't deserve it. We had plans on having a little baby this year! This is gonna be so hard," Aria Hickman, Jackson's girlfriend said.
27-year-old Taiesha Watkins, a mother of a 5-year-old who was visiting from Houston, Texas, was also gunned down.
For the first time, WWL-TV spoke with Jeremiah Lee's brother, Jamel Hill. Police told us Lee was the intended target in Saturday's shooting.
"Despite whatever, he was a worker. He was a father of three. A good father. He worked everyday. He was actually off on Saturday," Hill said.
Hill says instead of focusing on his brother's past, we should highlight the real problem plaguing the community.
"The core is that there's nothing for these children to do. The same educational programs they have in other states, they don't have down here," Hill said.
Following a series of prayers, Jackson's family walked down the road to the very spot where Jackson collapsed after being shot. After singing one more song, they released balloons into the sky, hoping their message reaches him high above.
"Some people runs away, and don't want to talk to the news cameras. But, this the only way we gonna settle this!! This masquerade, is violent all over the world but I'm fighting for my boy!" Jackson said.
If you have any information on this shooting, please call NOPD Homicide Detectives at 504-658-5300. You can also call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
Caresse Jackman can be reached at cjackman@wwltv.com.