DETROIT – His shooting made national headlines, but Federal Judge Terrence Berg put out a call to action Friday night and hundreds came to walk to stop violence in Detroit's neighborhoods.
Berg was shot outside his home during a robbery attempt last month. He's adamant that what happened to him should not be an excuse to hate on the city.
He may be a federal judge, but to the Gesu community, he's Terry Berg, and after he was shot while taking out the trash at his University District home, this parish and the entire community felt it.
"I have called Detroit our beloved community, our blessed community," Berg said.
Berg and his family have lived here for 26 years. They believe in this city, but they also, like the hundreds who came out Friday night, believe that gun violence has got to go.
Jazz singer Thornetta Davis used her voice to add to the message.
So many felt they need to be here like Jennifer Stalker, mother of Paige Stalker, who was killed when a man opened fire on the car she was a passenger in on Detroit's east side.
"I saw this on TV and I said, 'I have to go. I have to be there. I have to go and support.' It's why we're here," Stalker said.
And so Stalker and hundreds of others walked, like Gesu parishioner Leticia Sampson and her son, Trevor, and daughter, Mya.
"Trevor actually saw it on the news," said Sampson. "He said, 'Mummy, we know him. That's Teddy's dad.'"
What happened to Berg is a call to arms -- to make Detroit come back, its neighborhoods have to be free of this. Berg and his wife, Anita, are upbeat, even though the bullet did a lot of damage to his leg.
"We have 25 years of a very positive experience in a very neighborly supportive community," Berg said. "I didn't want this one unfortunate incident to define Detroit, or define my experience in Detroit."