Prayer vigils, community meetings planned after Miami shootings

South Florida pastors gathered Monday in Miami to announce an action plan to engage the community and find solutions after the recent fatal shootings of two boys.

Carl Johnson, pastor of the 93rd Street Baptist Church, announced a four-fold plan, including a partnership with the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office, to increase community input and provide jobs for residents in Miami-Dade.

The plan includes prayer vigils at parks in Overtown, other Miami areas and in Miami Gardens, and town hall meetings where community leaders and police hope to find more information on recent shootings.

The town hall meetings will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Greater Love Missionary Baptist Church, 18200 NW 22nd Ave; Greater Israel Bethel Baptist Church, 160 NW 18th St; and the 93rd Street church, 2330 NW 93rd St.

The “State of Urgency” plan comes several weeks after the unsolved shooting deaths last month of 10-year-old Marlon Eason in Overtown and 16-year-old Richard Hallman in Allapattah.

“A change must take place,” Johnson said. “I could not let these deaths go unnoticed.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Prayer vigils, community meetings planned after Miami shootings."