St. Pete family aims to curb violence after tragic shooting death of son
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - One St. Pete family is turning tragedy into something positive.
Their 20-year-old son was shot and killed back in 2019, and his death inspired them to help other teens and families lead safer lifestyles, free of violence.
READ: Community mourns after former star athlete shot to death
This all stems from the death of Marquis Scott, a Northeast High School football player, in 2019. He was riding his bike in St. Pete when he was shot and killed.
"His main goal was to make everyone smile and to make everybody laugh," Northeast HS football coach Jeremy Frioud said of Marquis.
Walking into the Center of Health Equity in St. Petersburg, one can see an easel with photos of Marquis and a pledge his father wrote for teens to commit to lifestyles without violence.
"It takes all of us being involved to bring awareness to gun violence, bring awareness to mental health, bring awareness to a need for community safety and take accountability for their safety," said Maress Scott, Marquis' father.
Following Marquis' tragic death, his family started ‘Quis for Life,’ a foundation created in his honor aimed at stopping gun violence among teenagers.
"It was such a horrible event, but through this process and our faith in God, we found out that we were a little bit more resilient than we thought," Maress said. "And we found out through love and forgiveness, not excusing what they did, but forgiving so that we can heal ourselves. And through love and forgiveness, we found a way to move forward."
And in moving forward, the Scott family is hosting training sessions. On Friday night, there were guest speakers, representatives from organizations that mentor kids and are experts in mental health, along with groups who help parents gain awareness on what's going on with their kids and friends.
This comes during a violent week across the Tampa Bay area, with one teen killed in a Polk County shooting and another injured in a shooting in Tampa.
"I'm very worried about the trend," Maress said.
The training is called ‘5 Keys to End Gun Violence Among Young People.’ Scott says over 500 kids have made a pledge to adopt a nonviolent lifestyle. Also, more than 200 adults have taken the training so far.
The family's goal is to take these trainings nationally, working with more organizations both locally and across the country and also work with school districts.
If you want to get involved, there's a gun violence awareness walk this weekend in Marquis' name. It's Sunday at 2 p.m. at South Straw Park in Downtown St. Petersburg.