ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In part two of our series "Victims and Survivors: The Impact of Gun Violence," Spectrum News 1 reporter Sergio Cruel shares a message from grassroot organizers working to build public awareness of gun violence.

Since 2008, Sirena's Cotton's organization ROC the Peace has followed the motto, "Peace up, guns down." The group supports victims of violence and families who have lost loved ones to suicide, homicide, overdose or prison.

What You Need To Know

  • Sirena Cotton founded ROC The Peace in 2008 to honor her son Chris, who was fatally shot in 2007

  • Chris, a joyful 16-year-old, was fatally shot outside his home due what his mother says was a misunderstanding

  • Despite the tragedy, Cotton transformed her grief into a mission to support victims of violence and promote peace through ROC The Peace

Cotton started ROC The Peace in July 2008 to honor her son, Christopher Jones, who was fatally shot on Nov. 17, 2007.

What began as a birthday celebration for Chris grew into a larger mission.

“I noticed all the homicides," Cotton said. "It turned out to be something larger than just a birthday party for Chris."

Chris was a joyful 16-year-old who loved to laugh. Tragically, he was shot outside his home on Lexington Avenue in Rochester.

“It was a Saturday," she recalled. "The phone kept ringing. So he left twice. He said he was meeting a girl, but every time he went, she wasn’t there.”

As curfew approached, Sirena told Chris to stay home. 

“I said, ‘Whoever that is, they have to come here.’ When I looked out, he was sitting with the girls,” she said. “Then I went upstairs. I heard a lot of noise and thought, 'wait, Chris is out there.'”

The evening turned into a nightmare. 

“I saw a boy get out of a vehicle and Chris tried to turn and run," Cotton said. "But the gun went off. When he got shot, he said, 'Ma, I love you. Ma, I love you.' And I said, 'I love you too, baby. You'll be OK.'”

Chris was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. Sirena believes the tragedy was a misunderstanding. She says Chris had been dating a girl who lied about her age. When her cousin confronted Chris, Sirena says a fight broke out and the cousin's friend shot him. Sirena says the girl later admitted that Chris didn’t know her real age.

Sirena's final moments with Chris were filled with love. 

“He looked like he was resting," Cotton said. "I kissed him [and] told him I love him and said I’ll see him again.”

Despite the tragedy, Cotton does not see herself as a victim. 

“You have to survive," she said. "I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for my baby to be killed. I didn’t ask to start ROC The Peace. But I have to keep surviving."

Justice was served and Chris’s murderer remains behind bars. It's a small victory in Sirena Cotton’s ongoing fight for peace and healing, in a country where countless cases of gun violence remain unsolved.

Click here for part 1 of "Victims and Survivors: The Impact of Gun Violence." Part 3 can be found here.