NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — This week marked the birthday of Waffle House shooting victim Akilah Dasilva.
To honor his memory, people are gathered Saturday for a walk to raise money for the Akilah Dasilva Foundation. Organizers hoped to fundraise $50,000.
NewsChannel 5 spoke with his mother, Shaundelle Brooks as she celebrated another birthday without her son. She said her son was special to her and so many others.
The Akilah Dasilva Foundation works to prevent violence with education and awareness. The walk will benefit students in Nashville with the money raised going toward scholarships for students impacted by gun violence.
"We feel like we need to keep his legacy alive because before everything happened... he was totally against violence," Brooks said. "He was not a lover of guns and he spoke about peace and love and you know, then something like this happens."
Brooks mentioned recently sharing Dasilva's story in a podcast with the organization BRADY. You can find that here.
