Juneteenth celebration plans to honor victims of Round Rock shooting
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Round Rock police are still looking for the suspect or suspects connected with the deadly Juneteenth festival shooting that killed two mothers and wounded 14 others in Round Rock last weekend.
A Juneteenth celebration on Wednesday plans to honor the victims and their families, and also provide mental health resources.
'Not been able to sleep'
For the second year in a row, Cluren Williams is hosting the celebration. He said there will be a 10K walk followed by food and activities.
But this time won't be quite like the last.
Because of the shooting in Round Rock, Williams said they will pay tribute to the families and those traumatized by the situation.
"This should be a day of freedom, but now it has turned into a day of mourning," Williams said.
It's a tragedy Williams saw firsthand.
"I have not been able to sleep. In the back of my mind and deep down in my heart, I just don't want to be excited about life until we show the concern and the love and the mourning with those families," Williams said.
Mental health resources
Now, he's using Wednesday's event as a chance to provide free mental health resources.
Williams said the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center is partnering with them to provide resources at the event and at the center's location.
"We want to get these resources to you as soon as possible," Williams said. "We don't want to linger with them."
Finding the suspect
Owner of Cal's Hair and Nail Salon, Johnny Ardoin, said he's helping provide food for Wednesday's event.
As the community comes together to show support, Ardoin also demands justice.
"We need that coward to come and face his consequences for what he did," Ardoin said. "That was hard for the children, for everyone that was out there. It's very heartbreaking."
KXAN reached out to the Round Rock Police Department for any pictures, videos or sketches of a potential suspect because the description they provided was vague.
The department said it released everything it has and is "working diligently to identify the suspect or suspects responsible for this tragedy."