COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Building Better Communities organization held a round table discussion on gun violence on Thursday night.
The discussion was held at the Centro Cristiano de Columbia Church on Decker Blvd.
On August 25th, the church saw gun violence first-hand after a man entered the church and opened fire during a Sunday morning service.
One man, Esvin Perez, 23, was shot and is still recovering from his injuries.
Thursday night's discussion was hard for Pastor Henry Alfaro, the pastor of the church. He says his congregation has been reluctant to come and worship since the shooting.
"We are worried that this person is still around, but we have felt the embrace of the community." {translated from Spanish}
The Forest Acres Police Department is still working to find the man responsible for the shooting.
Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gibson attended the discussion and says they have seen an increase in gun related crimes around Richland and Kershaw Counties.
"You're seeing an up tick in violence from that age range of about 14 to 25-26 years old," says Gibson. "Gun violence, it's something that we have to do more about in our communities. Our office, meaning the solicitor's office, we have to be tougher on those situations, especially if the person has had a gun in the past."
Solicitor Gibson believes the discussions work, because it gets information out to the community.
Pastor Alfaro agrees and explained that it's up to the community to demand change.
"The most important thing that I was able to to retrieve is that we cannot confront this alone," says Alfaro. "We have to confront this with the community."
Anyone with information in the shooting at the Centro Cristiano de Columbia Church is asked to contact the Forest Acres Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.