CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On what would have been his 24th birthday, the mother of Donqwavias “Quay” Davis spent her day in Raleigh, with a group rallying on the steps of North Carolina’s General Assembly, demanding lawmakers address the gun violence plaguing the state.
“These murder rates, they’re getting ridiculous and were losing our children, our moms, our neighbors, due to senselessness,” Clydia Davis said.
Davis founded Moms Ain't Lyin, an organization aimed at stopping gun violence, after Quay’s death in 2019.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Quay was shot and killed at an apartment complex near UNCC after an argument. Javier Concepcion-Perez, 20 was later charged with his murder.
“He so missed, that’s why I fight my fight because he’s a life worth fighting for,” Davis said.
Davis said Friday’s rally was a message to lawmakers, calling for tougher laws and fewer bail opportunities for those who pull the trigger.
“As their killers have been released on bond and they’re out walking amongst us, it hurts, it hurts, it makes us feel like our kids' lives had no value,” she said, “These murderers are getting bonds and bails, you know low bonds and bails and it’s just not right, our children will never get out of the grave, our loved ones will never get out of their graves, so why should they get out of jail?”
And over the last few weeks, gun violence has shattered communities across our area. In Charlotte, 15-year-old Shamareon McKinney was shot and killed on Tuckaseegee Road, by another 15-year-old.
And in Shelby, an 8-month-old baby girl is fighting for her life after Shelby police say an altercation in the street of her neighborhood, sent bullets flying through the walls of her room. And that’s only naming a few.
In fact, CMPD recently started a special task force to address gun violence, called the Crime Gun Suppression Team.
But Davis said she wants lawmakers at the top to also take on the issue.
Contact Ashley Daley at adaley@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.