Jacksonville teen on father killed in Jacksonville: 'The pain doesn't just go away'

Jacksonville community members united by a mission -- to catch the people behind violent murders in our neighborhoods.

Hand in hand, community members prayed Saturday before taking to the streets in the neighborhood where Annie Miller, 35, and Deborah Ziegler, 58, were shot and killed Aug. 22.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has not announced any arrests in either woman’s death.

“You always remember the way that your family member died, and it's terrible,” Kayla Carson said.

The 16-year-old knows the grief all too well.

She was just 12 years old when her dad, Stuart Carson, was killed in his cab in Brentwood in 2014.

<strong>"The pain doesn't just go away after a year. It's always with you no matter how long, how old you get," she said.</strong>

Carson’s family joined MAD DADS in canvassing neighborhoods, hoping to help other families find closure.

MAD DADS is one of several groups working to stop violence in Jacksonville.

Group leaders and community members – from JSO officers to pastors and volunteers -- take to the streets to empower people with information about crimes to come forward.

“The community needs to know that somebody cares,” MAD DADS founder Donald Foy said. “If they see that someone cares, then they’ll be more apt to call Crime Stoppers.”

To help address violence in Jacksonville, city leaders have proposed investing $300,000 in local youth organizations that help deter young people from turning to crime.

City Council President Aaron Bowman said Friday that the proposal has to go before the full City Council for a vote. If passed, it would make funds available by Oct. 1.

Foy said he believes the focus also needs to be on the streets.

“We’ve got to reach the ones in the streets that already got the guns, and we’ve got to go to the streets where they are, like we are today,” Foy said.

Stuart Carson’s family tells Action News Jax that the efforts can lead to arrests – which helped their family heal.

In 2015, Rohbanni Wilson was sentenced to life in prison for Carson's shooting death.

“It doesn’t take away the pain, but it sure makes you feel a whole lot better,” his sister, Lori Gilkinson, said.

It's a pain she and her family want to help stop any other family from going through.

Cox Media Group