Hundreds march in protest of violence

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, October, 2006 by Edward Colimore

A few parents carried framed photos of their children, cut down by a stray bullet or shot to death in a robbery. Others wore T-shirts memorializing dead loved ones and held signs that read "Stop the Violence." After a stunning week of killings in Amish country and across Philadelphia, hundreds of people - including students and activists - participated yesterday in a school district-sponsored antiviolence fund-raising march to City Hall.

At least 17 homicides have been reported in the city since last Monday, the day five Amish girls were killed execution-style in Lancaster County, authorities said. The Philadelphia killings, including those of two 17-year-old boys, made it one of the deadliest weeks ever, police said. The deaths boosted the number of homicides for the year...