St. Pete father whose son was shot, killed working with youth to help end gun violence

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg father who lost his son to gun violence is now using his memory to spark change among young people. 

Marquis Scott was just 20 years old when he was shot and killed while riding his bicycle in St. Pete.

"He was a kid who was a leader in the community. Everywhere he went, people were attracted to him," Marquis Scott's dad, Maress Scott, said. "When I looked at what happened to my son, I realized that a number of the kids was involved. I knew their dads and I knew that, I couldn't just go and say ‘I want revenge or just justice.’ I feel like somebody has to do something, because these were all our young kids involved in the gun violence."

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Maress did do something. He started 'Quis For Life' a non-profit organization in memory of his son aimed at preventing youth gun violence. It's the second-leading cause of death in children 0-17, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Pictured: Marquis Scott

"It's something that's very important in our country, is important in our state, but very important in this city," Maress said. "This is a small city. I grew up in inner city Chicago, and I know when violence starts, violence begets violence. And if we don't get ahold of it, it would get worse and worse. And we're starting to see some of the effects of that."

Tuesday night, he hosted a training session at the Enoch Davis Recreation Center on the five keys to end violence. As Maress explained, it starts first by understanding the impact, refraining from drug and alcohol abuse, stopping the silence, adopting a non-violent lifestyle and taking a stance to end gun violence.

Attendees got to hear from a wide range of speakers and at the end signed a pledge adopting the five keys. So far, more than 1,000 people, including 800 kids in St. Pete, have completed the training.

"Someone has to start getting at our youth at a very early age to establish within them a concern for the safety of our community," Maress said.

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