Actors Portray Dramatic Murder Scene In Streets Of Abbeville During An Extremely Powerful Vigil

If you didn't know any better, you would think you were watching a senseless murder scene playing out on Facebook Live.

That's exactly what I thought was going down as I scrolled past KLFY's live video on Facebook. A weeping mother sat on the street, rocking her lifeless young child while their t-shirt was soaked in blood. In the background of the frame, another bloodstained body lay motionless in the street while someone stood over them brandishing a pistol.

It was a shocking image, to say the least, and with no context or trigger warning, I sat there wide-eyed with my mouth open wondering where this horrific scene was unfolding in Acadiana.

The scene was so dramatic, it felt like something out of a movie and as I turned up the volume on the live KLFY video I realized that was exactly what was going down. A group of friends and family gathered for a vigil on Tuesday to remember 33-year-old Brandon Johnson who was shot to death earlier this month in Abbeville.

During the vigil, a pastor and activist spoke about the issue of gun violence, giving a powerful message while actors laid in the street around him, their clothes covered in fake blood, portraying the deaths of those who have fallen victim to senseless shootings.

One of the actors portrayed a mother begging God to save her child, while another actor was dressed as a police officer who held his hand to the throat of a man who was laying on the ground covered in blood.

Pastor and activist Lawrence Levy said he feels like the city of Abbeville has become "numb to murders."

It’s almost like we expect it. It’s not like it’s a shock to have young black men murdered in the streets of Abbeville now. It’s basically like we’re expecting it to take place or wondering when the next one will take place. It’s almost like it’s a shock to not have a murder. It’s a shock to just have a time of peace with no gunshots going off. That’s more of a shock versus the actual people being murdered, and we are in a bad place here in the city of Abbeville, Louisiana.

The shocking scene prompted reaction to those who viewed it online—many of them supporting the pastor's message.

After seeing the videos and the reactions, the scene reminded me of HELL HOUSE; the haunted house the church would put on where horrific accident scenes, medical emergencies, and overdoses were depicted to scare the hell out of us to act right as teenagers.

See more information about the recent violence in Abbeville and the call to action by some of the mothers affected by the senseless gun violence in their neighborhoods below.

See more raw live videos as the vigil played out via KLFY and reporter Britt Lofaso here.