A ceasefire weekend was held in the US city of Baltimore to reduce gun violence after a record number of murders were recorded.
Demonstrators and peace protesters called for the city to last 72-hours without somebody being killed.
Woman reveals hitman said 'sorry' before throwing two litres of acid at her face
This weekend events and activities have been organised to try and get the message of peace deeper into the community.
Rallies, music events, dances, discussions and memorials to those killed were organised.
Banners with the slogan: ‘Nobody Kill Anybody’ were also paraded through the streets in an effort to reduce the number of people being murdered on the streets of Baltimore each year.
Baltimore, one of the poorest major cities in the United States, experienced 341 killings last year, the highest per-capita rate on record for the city and the third year in a row that the number went above 300.
So far, this is the third ceasefire organised in the city.
Baltimore Ceasefire, the group behind the weekend of peace, reported there have been no fatalities this weekend so far.
Shockingly, one person has been reported to have been injured in a non-fatal shooting.
The first ceasefire in August 2017 ended in tragedy when someone was killed just 41 hours into the call for peace and the second in November ended with the killing of an off-duty police officer, Sgt Tony Anthony Mason Jr.
The 40-year-old was sat in a parked car when he was fatally shot and a woman sitting next to him was shot in the leg but survived.
In a neighbourhood in the north of Baltimore artist Barbara Treasure set up banners and prayer flags visible to traffic to promote the campaign.
Ms Treasure has taken part in the both previous ceasefire weekends and decided to do even more for the third, reports the Baltimore Sun.
Daredevil walking wire between cliffs sent spinning by massive wave
She said that residents from different areas of the city forget what they have in common, including the desire for a safer place to live.
The ceasefire events, she said, empower residents to provide ‘strength and heal the city from the grassroots up’
She added: ‘Everyone is connected to the trauma and pain of homicides in Baltimore.’
Baltimore City police spokesman T.J. Smith said the department is grateful for grassroots efforts such as Ceasefire.
‘It’s been made clear from the government and the community that it takes all of us to stop the violence.’
‘This is more than a weekend. It’s a movement of mobilizing people for a common goal.’
More: World
[contf] [contfnew] 
METRO
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
