The family of slain domestic violence victim, April Charles, is speaking out after the father of her child shot her and then turned the gun on himself.

Family and friends of April, along with Chez Hope Family Violence Crisis Center gathered on Friday to remember her and to speak out against domestic violence.

“It’s a tragedy. Kenneth, he killed my cousin and he killed himself, but you know I’m praying for his family as well. Because everybody is hurting and everybody is affected,” said April’s cousin Celina Charles.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.

They also say the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.

Local domestic violence shelter, Chez Hope, says in 2017, Louisiana was third in the nation for domestic violence homicides. They say the state had 62 domestic violence homicides that year, 21% of which involved suicide.

Now, April’s family is teaming up with Chez Hope to try and reduce those numbers.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can call Chez Hope at (337) 828-4200 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).