Recent violence in Opelousas brought a reaction from city council members Tuesday, in the form of a community prayer walk.
Council members say they organized the event at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse in response to shooting and assault crimes in the past three months.
According to the Opelousas Police Department, from March 26 until May 22 officers responded to a total of 47 911 calls of shootings and other violent crimes.
Councilwoman Sherell Roberts says after seeing and hearing about all the different crimes in the city, she believes that prayer will have an impact.
“I think it’s very important to have prayer in this community. We’ve been dealing with a lot of things over the years in this community and I think Opelousas is a wonderful place to live and I think if we can keep the people grounded and rooted and together, we can overcome anything that we come across here in Opelousas,” said Roberts.
Councilman Marvin Richard says to stop crime, Opelousas needs to come together and pray. With the power of prayer, he says the city can be revived.
“When you want to build your community up, you must come together to make it work. So, I thank God for her for putting this together, bringing these pastors together and knowing that prayer will bring the city together,” said Richard.
