Nashville homicides on the rise, local mothers speak out against gun violence

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - With 12 confirmed homicides in Nashville, 2023 has been off to a violent start. After seeing the impact first-hand, two Nashville mothers are hoping to see a change.

“I would like for the people that run this city and run this state to come up with something,” said Talia Monget-Simmons, President of the AnTwand Covington Jr. Foundation.

With 12 homicides so far in 2023, this year’s numbers are comparable to cities like Memphis.

As of Tuesday, Louis Brownlee, Public Information Officer of the Memphis Police Department confirmed Memphis currently sits at 13 homicides.

“It breaks my heart because we are just 17 days in so 12 homicides in 17 days. That is a lot,” Monget-Simmons explained.

The latest incident happened Monday evening. A 19-year-old lost his life, and a 14-year-old was sent to the hospital following a shooting near 26th Avenue North and Salem Mason Drive.

After losing her son back in 2012, gun violence is a topic Simmons knows all too well.

“It is always going to touch my heart because my son was only 17 when he was murdered. So that is always going to be a soft spot for me. But it is even more sad that we are still in this space,” She stated.

Stacy Hall is a Member of Mothers Over Murder. She too lost her son years ago.

“When I came to mothers over murder…At that time it was like 20 women. Now we are dealing with like 60-70 women everywhere. At first, it was just in Nashville, but now we got women in Murfreesboro... Now we have people everywhere...that are talking about this growing problem with homicides,” said Hall.

Hall believes having more staff within police departments could make a difference. She’s also hoping people will think of the consequences before they act.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody because you are killing somebody’s child and even to the people whose kids were responsible for my child’s murder... The feeling of losing a child and having to bury a child I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” explained Hall.

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