The crowd in Nottingham's Market Square
|
A vigil has been held in Nottingham in memory of Danielle Beccan, the teenager shot and killed as she returned home from a fair.
Friends, families and Nottingham residents held a minute's silence for the 14-year-old in the city centre.
Buses and trams pulled over and those attending the ceremony called for an end to Nottingham's gun culture.
Two men charged with Danielle's murder on 9 October appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.
Junior Andrews, 23, of no fixed address, and Mark Ontonio Kelly, 20, from Nottingham, are accused of murdering Danielle as she walked home from the Goose Fair.
They spoke only to confirm their names during the short hearing and made no application for bail.
The case was adjourned until 12 January.
Danielle's mother, Paula Platt, 32, has said she hoped her daughter's death would highlight the problem of gun crime in Nottingham.
"We all need to stand together against gun crime, side by side, and send a message that this cannot and must not happen again.
"It's time we got our city back to how we want it to be."
During the vigil, Danielle's family wore ribbons in her favourite colours, pale blue and pink, to remember the schoolgirl.
Some shops closed and a gospel choir sang in the central square before bells were rung out across the city to mark the beginning of a minute's silence at 1230 BST.
Danielle's mother Paula joined the crowds
|
"It is important that people beyond Nottingham understand the depth of feeling and anger in the city at this senseless act of violence," said Nottingham council leader Jon Collins.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said he supported the stand against the "horror and tragedy" of gun crime.
"I stand united with the city of Nottingham and with all of the brave communities who stand against guns and against the gun culture.
"However, at this moment, let us not forget that Nottingham is not 1930s Chicago.
"It is a city where the police, the local authority and the people of the city are working hard together to drive down crime."
There was an average of one shooting every week in Nottinghamshire last year.