Tampa Bay saw the first Peace in the Streets community bike ride Sunday.

What You Need To Know

  • Peace in the Streets bike ride raised awareness about recent gun violence

  • 35 homicides in Tampa, according to police record

  • Organizers plan more events to speak out against gun violence

Local music artist and published author Tom G was behind the event that brought nearly 100 people together for the cause.

“It’s a lot of gun violence going on in the city right now; our youth, the city is in a turmoil state,” said Tom G. “It’s real devastating, especially recently. We just lost a baby to gun violence in the city so right now I’m trying to tap in and make a difference some kind of way.”

Tampa has seen 35 homicides according to police record, and even though 11 arrests have been made on these cases, the Bay area continues to see a rise in gun violence. Sunday’s Peace in the Streets bike ride sought to address that by a show of unity.

The riders started at Curtis Hixon Park and hours later ended at Daddy O’s Patio restaurant in Ybor City.

“I want to use my platform to help people; even if I can just get 10 kids and make a change, it’s worth it,” said Tom G. 

Daddy O Patio owners Richie Wess and Yung Dred told me supporting events like this is what makes the community strong. They provided lunch for all the riders on Sunday.

“We were 100% all for it and glad we were able to be a part of something like this for the city,” said Richie Wess.  

Wess and his brother join Tom G in planning the next event, which they say will be even bigger than what we saw Sunday.

“It’s important to show unity in the community and show that we can stand together for a positive note,” said Wess. “We want better for our city and the people in the city; we grew up here and want it to flourish.”

You can learn more by emailing: PeaceInTheStreetsBikeRide@yahoo.com