TAMPA, Fla. -- A group of students across the Tampa Bay area gathered along Fowler Avenue to call for justice and police reform in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting on Friday evening.
“We’re tired. The community is tired of being shot at, tired of dying and now is the time to demand justice," David Jones, a second-year student at USF said.
The gathering was organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (Tampa Bay SDS).
"/> Sunday's police shooting that left Blake paralyzed inspired the USF student to fight for the change he wants to see for future generations.
“Even as a kid, me and my uncle have been pulled over and harassed by cops just because we were driving a 'too good car, or whatever,'” Jones said.
The gathering also comes on the same day that thousands marched on Washington D.C. A national outcry against systemic racism was heard loud in clear in Tampa.
“Hey hey ho ho, these racist cops have got to go," the group chanted.
In addition to demanding justice for the Wisconsin man who is currently fighting for his life at the hospital, the young demonstrators also called for justice for other victims of police brutality, including Jonas Joseph, who was shot multiple times by police here in Tampa.
"Demanding justice for Jacob Blake. Demanding justice for Jonas Joseph,” Jones chanted.
North of the border, the National Hockey League showed its support from the two bubble locations.
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The NHL postponed its playoff games Thursday and Friday, which included Game 4 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins, in wake of the shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
"Battling the Boston Bruins for two straight nights and then the next morning, they’re standing united trying to digest what’s going on and forward," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.
Cooper said this moment is about so much more than hockey.
“You feel pretty good about your group when you’re in a room with the coaching staff, the general manager, the trainers, the doctors and everybody’s having an open discussion,” The Bolts coach said.
The Lightning-Bruins series resumes Saturday, August 29 at noon.
