HOUSTON – Dozens gathered in the 4th Ward for a vigil Tuesday night, nearly 24 hours after a Fourth of July shooting left three people dead. Family and friends of the victims are still in pain but they chose Tuesday night as a time of unity.
"We're going to celebrate the lives that was lost," says Pastor Elmo Johnson, of 4th Ward's Rose of Sharon Baptist Church. "We're going to come together and stop all of this violence."
Three men were killed after gunfire erupted at a Fourth of July celebration Monday night. One of the victims was 28-year-old Charles Jackson, a father of three.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed Jamal Dixon-Lackey and Daquarius Tucker also died.
Jackson's mother says he was an innocent bystander simply trying to enjoy the holiday.
"He was a good father, good son, good friend, good everything," says Deshunda Jackson. "He was just a good person."
"I watched him grow up as a little kid," adds Pastor Johnson. "His mother did a good job in raising him. He didn't get in a lot of trouble. He wasn't rowdy."
In addition to a call of unity, the neighborhood is also asking for help to find the person or persons responsible for Monday's deadly shooting.
"Whoever the guy is, whoever it is. Anybody who know who it is, just give me justice for my child," says Deshunda Jackson. "That's all I want."
Two other people are recovering from gunshot wounds suffered during the shooting Monday night. One is a 37-year-old man and the other is a 10-year-old child.