(WWJ) Family, friends and supporters came together Thursday to remember a man who was gunned down last year, while calling for an end to the violence.
Benjamin Williamson, 26, was found fatally shot early in the morning of Saturday, July 27, 2019, at Petoskey St. near Elmhurst on Detroit's west side.
With his murder still unsolved. Williamson's mother and siblings -- together with Project Good Samaritan and Crime Stoppers of Michigan -- released 1,000 red balloons to honor his memory, and the memory of countless others who've needlessly lost their lives.
This is the day Williamson would have turned 28 years old.
"I rejoice today, amen, because God has given me strength, amen, and even forgiveness at a time like this," Williamson's mother, Gloria Williamson, said -- among those gathered outside New Hope City Church on Tndianadale. "And my prayer is that the murder and the hatred and the jealousy and the envy stop!"
"We've got brothers killing brothers and cousins," she said, "and people you went to school with. And we've got to stop!"
Tips are wanted to bring justice for Williamston's death and closure for his grieving family.
A cash reward of up to $2,500 is available for the tip that leads to an arrest.
Anyone with any information that could help police is urged to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP (1-800-773-2587). Tips may also be submitted online at this link.
As always, tipsters may stay 100% anonymous, will not be asked their names, to speak to police or to testify in court.
Cash rewards are paid by Crime Stoppers upon an arrest in a case.