In Roanoke, June’s Gun Violence Awareness Month Ends With Another Young Life Lost

Roanoke, VA

Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff

Published: 12:01 AM EST July 1, 2026

Edited: 12:01 AM EST July 1, 2026

On Bluestone Avenue in Northeast Roanoke, gun violence awareness month ended the way too many months in this city do: with a young life cut short and a family getting the kind of late‑night phone call no one wants to answer.

Shortly after 11 p.m. on June 27, Roanoke Police responded to a report of a shooting in the 2900 block of Bluestone Avenue NE. Officers found 22‑year‑old Alexis Edmunds dead at the scene and a 23‑year‑old man inside the home. Investigators say an argument between the two escalated into gunfire, leading to Edmunds’ death and the arrest of Tiajae Silas Paige, who now faces a murder charge. Police say the investigation is ongoing and have asked anyone with information to contact the department.

Just a few days later, On June 29, 2026, at approximately 10:25 p.m., Roanoke Police were notified that a gunshot victim had arrived at Roanoke Memorial Hospital by private vehicle. The victim reported being assaulted and sustaining a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the lower extremities in the area of Shenandoah Avenue and 36th Street NW. Officers responded and began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. At this time, investigators have been unable to locate a crime scene or identify any witnesses related to the shooting. The investigation remains ongoing, and the police department is urging any with knowledge to come forward.

In a month when the city is encouraged to “go orange” for gun violence awareness, this latest killing underscores a reality advocates have repeated for years: banners, proclamations, and one‑day events matter, but they are not enough.

June is a spotlight, not the solution

Families and advocates in Roanoke have spent the month telling anyone who will listen that gun violence is not a once‑a‑year issue. FEDUP with Gun Violence — a local nonprofit founded by families who lost loved ones to shootings — uses June to bring that message into public view.

Their calendar this year included a memorial walk on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge and a prayer breakfast honoring people killed by gun violence. At each event, families shared photos and stories of the sons, daughters, parents, and siblings they have lost, reminding attendees that behind the statistics are names, personalities, and unfinished lives.

Orange arm bands, ribbons, and T‑shirts circulated throughout the community. City leaders and residents were urged to “go orange” for the entire month, not just for a single day of awareness. Local media promoted FEDUP’s events, including a June gathering focused on prayer, remembrance, and the simple act of being present with families whose grief does not end when the month does.

Year‑round work: FEDUP, gyms, and grassroots clubs

What happens after June is what advocates say will ultimately determine whether Roanoke’s gun violence trends change. FEDUP’s calendar is explicitly built to extend beyond one month: vigils after spikes in shootings, courthouse protests, and events like “Christmas of Hope” for children who have lost a parent to gun violence. These gatherings are designed not only to honor victims, but to knit together support systems for families in the aftermath.

Prevention also shows up in less obvious places in boxing gyms, community clubs, and youth programs that quietly absorb the energy and frustration that might otherwise spill into the streets. Champ’s Gym also known as Melrose Athletic Club has spent decades offering young people discipline, mentorship, and a safe place to spend afternoons and evenings. Long before “violence prevention” became a policy buzzword, coaches there were doing that work one young person at a time: teaching them to wrap their hands, respect opponents, and carry themselves with confidence. Champ’s Gym traces its roots to 1972 when brothers Earnest “Champ” Cabbler and James Gregory Cabbler established a boxing program that would impact generations of Roanoke youth. The program eventually became part of Melrose Athletic Club, Inc. (MAC), a nonprofit founded in 2003 to continue and expand that mission. The goal remained simple: provide young people with positive alternatives, mentorship, discipline, and opportunity. For decades, that mission unfolded largely outside the spotlight. Young people learned how to wrap their hands, skip rope, respect opponents, and carry themselves with confidence. Many never became boxers. Many became productive adults. That was always the point.

Even as Champ’s Gym lost its longtime home in Old Firehouse No. 6 and navigated a complicated lease battle with the city, volunteers and supporters fought to keep the mission alive. The underlying idea is simple: if young people have trusted adults, structured activities, and a place where they are expected to show up and be accountable, the odds of them turning to guns in moments of anger or fear go down.

A city balancing grief and responsibility

Bluestone Avenue is now another address in a list of Roanoke locations that, for one family, will be permanently associated with the worst night of their lives. For advocates, it is a reminder that the work they do in June — marching, praying, planting trees, and reading names aloud — has to connect to deeper changes in how the city invests in neighborhoods, supports families, and responds to trauma.

The question for Roanoke is whether Gun Violence Awareness Month will remain mostly symbolic, or whether it becomes one part of a broader commitment: sustained funding for prevention programs, attention to youth spaces like Champ’s Gym, support for groups like FEDUP that walk with families for years, and a willingness to confront the root causes of violence, not just its headlines.

For now, the city closes out June with more orange ribbons, more memorial events, and one more young woman’s name added to the roll of lives lost to gunfire. Whether next June looks different will depend on what Roanoke chooses to do in the eleven months in between.

The Roanoke Rambler Staff