A six-year-old boy pleaded for people to stop retaliating in violence and urged them to trust that God is their "weapon" and He will make them safe.
Leanndra Cheatham said she often takes videos of her son Jeffrey. One night, when they were having a talk, she decided to record what he was saying, and she was surprised by what he said, Fox News reported.
"People need to stop killing each other," Jeffrey said. "I'm scared to die, and I'm really scared for my family to die."
Cheatham decided to upload her son's video on Facebook.
"I'm scared because I've seen my Mama's cousin, he's a little boy ... and he got killed standing outside of school," he continued. "All these people are hurting gang killing each other. We need to stop this."
Jeffrey was referring to his mother's 17-year-old cousin Taylor Simpson, who was killed last month in a drive-by shooting in University City. According to witnesses, Simpson was killed when two people in a sedan drove by the area and fired shots at him and other kids.
Cheatham said she wasn't even aware how her cousin's death impacted her son.
"Jeffrey saw me really sad when my cousin died. I didn't know he remembered or even listened when I talked about the death of my cousin," she said.
Jeffrey said kids like him should not be exposed to violence and guns.
"I'm a kid and I'm not supposed to be knowing all this stuff. I'm not supposed to be knowing about all these guns. I know about all bad stuff. ... I'm supposed to be learning about school," Jeffrey said.
He has a sweet note of encouragement for those who are going through difficulties in life.
"God's gonna make you safe. God can do as much as He can for you," he said. "And God, He loves you with all of His heart. God had died for you because God loves you."
He repeated his plea for people to stop killing each other, to stop resorting to violence in retaliation toward those who hurt them. He pointed people to a more powerful weapon: Jesus.
"Jesus ... will make sure you're alright," he said. "God is my weapon. God is gonna make sure I'm safe."
The video has greatly impacted those who have seen it, including a man who was supposed to shoot someone but decided not to.
"A man in Birmingham reached out to me and told me he didn't shoot someone in retaliation after seeing my son speak in the video," Cheatham said.
On another Facebook post, Cheatham shared the message of another man who had been a gang member all his life but was touched by Jeffrey's words.
"Saw video & it touched me since I have kids but also very active CRIP member with ties for very long time," the man told her.
"Just been CRIPPIN since I was 11 & now 43," the man said. "I know that life more than any other, I knew how to put in work & protect my own against all odds & with military training makes me want to protect & deal with stuff old school ways."
Cheatham encouraged him to stop the violence for his children's sake.
"U can do it! Do it for them!!! It will get hard it's nothing but the devil don't let him win," she told him.
Jeffrey's video message has gone viral. It has been viewed more than 180,000 times and has been shared 6,700 times as of today. Hear Jeffrey's powerful message below.
