Dozens in Sarasota come together to raise awareness about gun violence

SARASOTA, Fla. - On Saturday dozens of people in Sarasota took to the streets to stop gun violence. 

It comes more than a month after 13-year-old Aaron Hunter III was shot in the head in the backyard of a home in his neighborhood.

"It was hard. Like I really couldn't walk on my own. I had to have help. But now I can walk on my own and stuff and take steps and stuff. All I remember is I was picking mangos and I went to my friend's house and that's all I remember," Aaron Hunter said.

According to Sarasota Police, on June 22, Aaron was playing in the backyard of a neighbor's home in the 2900 block of Gillespie Avenue in Newtown when he was shot.

RELATED: Sarasota teen survives being shot in head, community helps during recovery

It's unclear where the bullet came from. Police are still investigating and have yet to make any arrests. At first, doctors weren't sure if Aaron would survive.

"The feelings I had, I just think first it was like fear. And then it was like, acceptance, okay, this is really happening. This is really going on. But like, I said, I just thank God. I just thank God," Aaron's mom Erica Dorsey said.

Aaron had to undergo several surgeries at Johns Hopkin's All Children's Hospital.

While the bullet fragments have been removed, the bullet remains lodged in his head.

On Saturday, dozens of community members came together at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in Sarasota for a special Stop The Gun Violence Walk.

"This is a miracle that this young man is here with us today. And to take a tragic situation like that, that one that could have been, you know, fatal and turn it into something beautiful like this is what Sarasota is all about," Sarasota Mayor Kyle Battie said.

Dorsey says it will be six months to a year before Aaron fully recovers.

"Everybody that has come out. Everybody that is rallying around us, everybody that is supporting us. I just I thank you. I am grateful. My heart is full. I'm just so grateful."

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070.