Hundreds march for peace in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - Hundreds of Portsmouth residents who have had enough with violence marched peacefully through the city Wednesday evening.

Organizer Ellen Tomyie marched to help encourage a brighter future for her family.

"I want to help my daughter plan my grandson's future and not [his] funeral," Tomyie said.

Tomyie said violence must be stopped at the root.

"It's not that, 'It's just a black thing,' it affects everybody, but you have to start where it starts at," Tomyie said.

The marchers started at Elm Street and weaved their way through the city, focusing on areas that see a lot of violence.

"It's not one problem in the community, it's a lot of problems. It's the youth that don't have anything to do, it's the gun violence, it's the drugs. This is a start, when people come together, and then you can discuss some issues," Portsmouth resident David Cox said.