“Talking can stop this” Vigil for Abbeville murder victim Aaron Wallace
ABBEVILLE, La. -(KLFY) A life cut short by gun violence was remembered Wednesday night in Abbeville. Police are investigating the murder of 20-year-old Aaron Wallace that happened June 2 on East Oak St.
People attending Wallace’s candlelight vigil expressed they are afraid of gunfire once the sun goes down. Aaron Wallace was only 20-years-old when he was gunned down walking home. Sadly, the news was also released Wednesday that sometimes its kids as young as 15-years-old behind the trigger.
Where Aaron Wallace’s blood was power-washed off East Oak St. is still visible. What’s worse is what his older sister, Charlotte Green, saw.
“We got to come stand right here and look at bullet holes in the ground where they stood over our little brother and killed him,” she said.
“Overkill,” his oldest brother, Jonathan Green exclaimed standing over the three permanent scars in the road. The spot a centerpiece for a candlelight vigil for their youngest sibling gone too soon.
“That’s not easy. It’s a pain that will never go away,” expressed his sister Charlotte, covering her tears, but her emotion couldn’t be hidden under any mask.
Wallace’s unsolved murder is one of more than five currently under investigation by Abbeville Police.
According to Lt. Jonathan Touchet, the most common missing piece needed to solve these crimes is a witness or knowledgeable person coming forward with a tip, “That is the biggest key to solving these crimes is for someone actually to come forward and be able to say, ‘look I saw this, this is what happened.”
Touchet said those fearing retaliation have several ways to give information anonymously, dialing the 892-6777 tipline or with the police department’s app, website, or social media.
“If telling what you know prevents either your family or another from going through this, it’s worth it. It has to be,” said Touchet.
Tuesday, Abbeville Police arrested a 15-year-old for an attempted murder where one person was shot Sunday. It’s one less risk on the streets, but Wallace’s surviving family hopes the killers still out are caught, so another vigil doesn’t have to happen.
“Something’s got to give or it’s going to keep giving meaning nothing is going to change,” Jonathan Green said.
“Nobody wants to say something because they’re afraid,” noted Charlotte Green. “They’re scared if they say something, then somebody is going to come after them or their family, but I feel if y’all start talking then that’s what’s going to stop all of this.”
Sadly, there’s no reason to believe these murders or attempted murders will stop when the people responsible aren’t in jail.
If you ever know anything that can aid in an arrest, you can make an anonymous tip by dialing 892-6777. You can also do so online or with the police department’s app.