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Family members held vigil to mourn the loss of two shooting victims

Posted: 6:45 PM May 24, 2012

Family members held vigil to mourn the loss of two shooting victims

South Bend's near west side community came out Thursday night to mourn the loss of two of its own.

21-year-old Kalyn Farmer and 22-year-old Mercedes Newbill were both shot and killed the night of May 6, and their murders are still unsolved.

Thursday night, friends and family gathered near the area where the body of one of those two men was found to pray for peace and healing. Others spoke openly about the growing need for everyone in the community to take a more active role in preventing violence.

Relatives of Mercedes Newbill, Marian and Juliana Newbill said, “It's going to take everybody coming together. So this is a great start, a good foundation, but there's a lot of work that needs to be done. We should have had a lot more young people out here at this prayer vigil, not only to see the support of the community, but to know that they can take a different path.”

Newbill would have turned 23 Thursday. His family says they'll miss his big smile.