四虎影院

Annettra Hicks knows firsthand the toll that gun violence in Fort Worth takes on its victims 鈥� and how hard it can be to find resources to heal.

Hicks, 40, has suffered the loss of family members and close friends who fell victim to gun violence.

In April, she wore a sweatshirt that belonged to her late friend , a Fort Worth musician who died by gun violence in 2020. She wanted to feel close to her friend as she joined a group of local pastors and churchgoers in marching down Mississippi Avenue in southeast Fort Worth to raise awareness and honor those who died by gun violence along the street.

The coalition of about 20, led by Pastor Kyev Tatum of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, pushed an empty coffin about a mile down Mississippi, stopping at intersections where gun violence occurred to pray for victims. Organizers of the effort told the Fort Worth Report they were taking matters into their own hands to combat gun violence and address the mental toll it takes on communities of color in Fort Worth.

鈥淭his is just something we have not done well,鈥� Tatum said. 鈥淭he faith community is best positioned to do the response of trauma care in communities once they are trauma informed 鈥� then they can respond with the compassion that they鈥檙e commissioned to respond with.鈥�

Their march was one of the first steps taken to launch a local chapter of the national Guns to Gardens program, which aims to convert unwanted firearms into garden tools for survivors of gun violence. The initiative, facilitated by the Colorado-based organization called RAWTools, aims to reduce gun violence in different neighborhoods, some with low life expectancy, by encouraging voluntary gun disposal in exchange for gift cards.

Volunteers within the program use a chop saw to dismantle unwanted guns and then use the metal to build garden tools and art. The program works with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, a nonprofit organization that provides required training programs for the Guns to Gardens volunteers to learn about the workings of the program and firearm safety. It also offers gun violence prevention resources and outreach to local congregations.

鈥淚t would save so many lives,鈥� Hicks said of the program鈥檚 value. 鈥淭o save a life, and give somebody an opportunity is huge, and it鈥檚 even bigger for the person. It鈥檚 something that they鈥檙e going to take with them forever.鈥�

A Guns to Gardens program , but one is needed for Tarrant County, particularly in the southeast part of Fort Worth, Tatum said. Gun violence in Fort Worth鈥檚 76104 ZIP code, where Tatum grew up, is 鈥渉orrific,鈥� he said.

The Fort Worth Police Department reports 24 fatal shootings in the ZIP code 76104 from January 2020 to June 15, 2025, according to a Fort Worth Report analysis of police data obtained through a public information request. That鈥檚 about 5.7% of the total 424 fatalities reported.

Over the same time frame, the ZIP codes in Fort Worth that faced the highest rates of gun violence fatalities were:

• 76119 in southeast Fort Worth with 39 fatalities
• 76112 in east Fort Worth with 37 fatalities
• 76116 in southwest Fort Worth with 37 fatalities
• 76106 in north Fort Worth with 33 fatalities
• 76133 in southwest Fort Worth with 24 fatalities

The initiative was born from a desire to address racial disparities in gun violence fatalities and provide the resources and support he believes city leadership has failed to provide, Tatum said. The grassroots effort is being led by an interracial, interdenominational group of pastors from across the Fort Worth area, including Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist leaders.

鈥淲e recognize that homicides and suicides caused by gun violence do not discriminate,鈥� Tatum said. 鈥淏ut how we respond to it is where the discrimination comes.鈥�

Participants in the upcoming program may choose to surrender a gun that was used in a suicide or a homocide, Tatum said. In return, the program will provide gift cards as a 鈥渢oken of appreciation鈥� to participants.

Tatum also intends to launch a community garden outside his southeast Fort Worth church, where participants in the program can garden and connect with nature as a way to help heal from trauma.

Tatum and other organizers are seeking donations with a $50,000 goal to fund the program. As of June, he said they鈥檝e fundraised 鈥渧ery little.鈥�

But he hopes that bringing a Guns to Gardens chapter to Fort Worth will bring more awareness to the issue of gun violence and teach clergy how to offer trauma-informed care to those impacted.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just feeling that we need to call on pastors and ministers to come into this space, to become trauma care informed, so that we can respond better. So that our kids don鈥檛 commit suicide because they can鈥檛 handle and manage life鈥檚 difficulties, from violence to the adverse childhood experiences they deal with.鈥�

The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles, vicar of St. Stephen鈥檚 Episcopal Church in Hurst, has been actively involved in gun violence prevention since 2012, inspired by the Sandy Hook shooting, in which 26 people were shot and killed at an elementary school, and her son鈥檚 fear of school shootings.

Being involved in gun violence prevention initiatives like Guns to Gardens is a physical way to take action and do 鈥減art of our job as Christians,鈥� Liles said.

鈥淚鈥檓 frustrated that the people who have the opportunity to change the laws to get these guns out of the streets or to prevent them from ever getting here in the first place, aren鈥檛 doing it,鈥� Liles said. 鈥淲e have to prove that our thoughts and our prayers 鈥� are not enough. This feels like a tangible action that we can take and to do it together.鈥�

The organization plans to have a safe disposal event for unwanted firearms from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 6 at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church. For more details, .

After marching down Mississippi Avenue in April, congregants and clergy gathered at Tatum鈥檚 church, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, to lay hands on the chop saw that will be used to dismantle firearms.

鈥淎s your people use this chop saw to make our community safe,鈥� Liles said, reading a blessing.

鈥淲e ask that you use each of us as a tool of your peace, your healing and your love,鈥� attendees responded.

Hicks, who joined the blessing with her 3-year-old son Dante Hicks, said she鈥檚 hopeful the Guns to Gardens program is helpful to communities of color.

To her, impacting even one individual would be a meaningful start.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to start a ripple effect,鈥� Hicks said. 鈥淎nd then that鈥檚 when things will actually start changing, and we鈥檒l see things actually getting better.鈥�

Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .

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