Community gets together for free hugs

Smiles and hugs were aplenty Wednesday night in downtown Wichita.

Taishma Owens-Council and Ashlyn Sullivan organized a "Free Hugs" event in Old Town Square. They had invited Wichita residents to gather to come hug it out. The idea came about after recent violence involving police; they hoped the event would ease tensions in the community, they had said.

Owens-Council said Wednesday night she had received at least 100 hugs. The event attracted Wichita police officers and Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell.

"I hope this goes nationwide, and we inspire other cities to do the same," Owens-Council said.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Community gets together for free hugs."