Anchorage

Each ribbon tells a story as ceremony honors Anchorage’s victims of violent crime

On Monday afternoon, Gene Lawrence tied a ribbon on a tree in remembrance of his son Leroy, who was killed during a drive-by shooting in Mountain View on April 7, 2017.

It was Leroy’s 17th birthday.

The ribbon Lawrence tied to the tree Monday— black, signifying homicide — was one of dozens affixed to branches during a tree ceremony at Hostetler Park in downtown Anchorage. Victims for Justice hosted the ceremony, held during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, to honor those affected by violent crime.

Attendees tied colored ribbons signifying different types of crime on branches to represent themselves or others who have been impacted by violent crime. Among the crimes represented: homicide (black); kidnapping (yellow); domestic violence (purple); sexual assault (teal); human trafficking (navy blue); assault (orange); hate crimes (white); child abuse (light blue); robbery (green); drunken driving (red); and crimes against those in uniform (red, white and blue).

Leroy Lawrence was on his way to a friend’s house to celebrate his birthday when “two guys drove by in a car shooting at someone else and killed him by mistake," Gene Lawrence said. “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time right by the Boys and Girls Club. A bunch of kids were out there. It’s just things that happen. These kids have guns and they shoot each other.

“What I tell the kids when they talk to me: When you shoot someone with a gun, it’s permanent. You can’t take it back. And some things happen that you wish you wouldn’t have done,” Lawrence said. "You get 99 years for shooting somebody. You sit in prison 99 years wishing you would have just not done what you’ve done.”

Bill Roth

Bill Roth is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News.

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