July 11, 2026
Sikeston held its annual Stop the Violence event today! There were speakers, music, food, snowcones, and fun for the kids too.
Lynda Stewart with Moms Demand Action spoke on gun violence, and what folks can do to prevent it. “10 years ago, I decided I was sick and tired of reading about children dying due to gun violence. I needed to get off the computer and get busy. So, I reached out to the Moms Demand Action Missouri Chapter.”
She was wearing a gray shirt that says, “Be Smart, because we have a program called Be Smart for Kids.”
SMART stands for – Secure all guns in your home and vehicles – Model responsible behavior around guns – Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes – Recognize the role of guns in suicide – Tell your peers to be SMART.
As Stewart says, “hiding your gun on the top shelf of your closet or sticking it in the console of your car is not securing your gun.” She’s right, too.
When I was a teenager, a childhood friend of mine committed the 2018 Marshall County High School Shooting. He took the gun out of the closet. His parents did not know it was gone until the shooting happened, their home was being raided, and they discovered, “the gun’s not in the closet.” It’s not just school shootings at risk, though. Firearm suicides happen, too.
Stewart added, “the gold standard for securing our guns is to store them unloaded, locked up, and separate from ammunition. In today’s world, if you can unlock your cell phone with your fingerprint, there’s a gun lock that does the same.”
She says it’s also important to have conversations with the parents of your children’s friends about how they store firearms in their home. “At the end of that play date, you want your child to come home.”
The Southeast Missouri Moms Demand Action Chapter needs volunteers. To learn more, you can visit besmartforkids.org.
Sikeston Police Officer Phayzun Fobbs also spoke at the event. Sikeston experienced some particularly tragic gun violence events this last year, but as he noted, the overall crime rate (assaults, burglaries, etc.) has gone down by 36%. This is a number that officers are proud of and want to continue bringing down.
“Stop the Violence” comes at a critical moment for Sikeston. After the in-custody death of Lloyd Gilmore in June, folks responded with protests, gatherings, and many are working to become more politically involved. In recent years, there were efforts to try and bridge divides between the larger public and the police department. Most of those efforts seemingly faded over time, but Lloyd Gilmore’s death is jolting folks to try again. Officer Fobbs wanted his speech to mainly surround trust and change.
“I know trust isn’t built with words alone, it’s built through actions, consistency, and accountability. Still, conversations like this is where the rebuilding process begins. We wear this badge with pride, but also we wear it with responsibility. This responsibility stands beyond enforcing laws. It includes protecting every person with dignity and listening before judging. We recognize that, for some community members, experiences with law enforcement have created frustration, disappointment, and even fear. We can’t move forward by pretending those experiences don’t exist…”
“Every officer takes an oath to serve the public. That oath means serving every neighborhood, family, business owner, child, and senior, equally and fairly. It means recognizing the badge represents communities and trust, not just authority. Public safety is something the police can achieve but cannot achieve alone. It requires partnership. So, I ask for your partnership.”
If we connect the idea of partnership to preventing gun violence, there are cities and groups that have done this. One of these organizations includes Cure Violence, based in Chicago. According to the group, at the street level, Cure Violence employs “violence interrupters,” individuals who, because of their former history or connections, can reach out to active gang members, or simply those active in the “streets.” Violence interrupters use their personal relationships to address ongoing disputes, which may prevent shooting escalations. Activities include talking groups or individuals out of planned violence and, in some cases, bringing people together to cool down conflicts.
Still, right now in Sikeston, many people’s senses of trust in the police are in the air, and some say it’s outright broken. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is not done investigating the death of Lloyd Gilmore. Body camera footage has not yet been released. I’ve filed an open records request for body camera footage and other details but have not yet received them myself.
Another journalist with a larger organization, however, did receive the police report from June 10th in an open records request. She then sent that report to me. I’m holding on to this information for now, awaiting more information like body camera footage to verify what’s been written in the report.
Gun violence is a topic I’m very passionate about, so I was glad to see so many faces at the event.
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