Gun violence is a serious issue that affects families and the communities they live in. One of the ways the Fayetteville Police Department battles this is by connecting with the community with fun events that allow people to get to know each other — and police officers. 

Outdoor movies are one way to do this. Fayetteville Police Department’s Operation Ceasefire presents “Family Movie Night” on Friday, June 2 at Rivers of Living Water Church of God. The church is providing a hot dog meal at 7:30 p.m.  and the movie will begin at 8:30 p.m. 

“This is our 10th anniversary of Ceasefire Movie Night and what we do is take our movie nights out into the city and the county,” said Lisa Jayne, Operation Ceasefire program coordinator. 

“If we notice there is a spike in gun activity and crime in that area, we will look to go into that area during the calendar year and people also request for us to come to their location.” Jayne added that the purpose is for kids to come out and do a gun pledge. 

They also offer free gun locks to parents and show a PSA before each of their movies about gun and gang violence. Parents are given pamphlets about warning signs that may indicate their child may be in a gang and who to call if they have that concern.   

The event will feature a kiddie train, a fire safety house, health screenings by Cape Fear Valley, health and wellness resources, a rock wall, a bounce house, K-9 demo, the fire truck, police vehicles, games, popcorn, drinks and officers on site to answer any questions participants may have.                 

This is part of the Ceasefire approach to combating gun and gang crime through suppression, intervention and prevention. “This is one of our community outreach prevention measures,” said Jayne. “We have our EKG program, which is educating kids about gun violence in the Cumberland County Schools System that we teach to all seventh graders and just finished up a third year with that.” 

Jayne added that they have taught over 20,000 students the program and since they initiated the program, violent crime for that age group has gone down by 3 percent. 

“We look forward to meeting new faces and having the community come out and enjoy the evening,” said Jayne.       

Admission is free. Bring a chair or blanket to enjoy a free movie under the stars. In the case of inclement weather the movie will be held inside. The church is located at 1764 Bingham Drive. For more information call Lisa Jayne at (910) 433-1017.