Family demands justice for New Kensington shooting victim at candlelight prayer vigil

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) - Family and friends of a New Kensington man gunned down in the parking lot of an apartment building gathered on Wednesday demanding justice and change at a candlelight prayer vigil.

James Hayes, 31, was shot to death outside the Kensington Arms Apartments on Friday, just feet from the police station.

His loved ones remember him as a soft-spoken man who loved his young children and enjoyed life. People say he could bring laughter to a quiet room and now the light of their lives is gone.

Loved ones were brought to tears on Wednesday with inexplicable pain. They say when the cameras are gone, the family will carry this grief forever and the least they could get right now is closure, bringing whoever is responsible for Hayes' death to justice.  

"I just hope somebody can find it so the kids can have security and know what happened to their dad. They're not going to be 7 and 8 forever," said Maci Shock, the mother of Hayes' children. 

His family has been ripped apart and traumatized by this senseless shooting. They are begging people to come forward with information. 

"Let's take back our city," said Apostle David Trent with Chosen Generation Church. "There's a lot of great things that have happened in this city with our redevelopment and I think it's very, very important that the community gets out here at times like this and say 'we're not going to stand for this kind of thing anymore.'"