Highland Park church hosts prayer gathering for those grieving after mass shooting
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) – The Highland Park community was grieving a day after the mass shooting at the July 4th parade which left seven people dead and dozens wounded.
Some left flowers at the scene of shooting. Others came together in prayer on Tuesday at Trinity Grace Church where CBS 2's Tara Molina spoke with community members.
People who were at the parade and heard the shots and want to focus on community, peace and togetherness on Tuesday. Others said they want to reconcile their feelings about what took place.
One woman told CBS 2 she went to church and a small church group with the suspected shooter.
The pastor at Trinity Grace Church said the church wanted to be a place for grieving and community members, of all backgrounds, seeking peace through a prayer gathering. Those who call Highland Park home began to grapple with the trauma of the mass shooting, the lives lost, the people hurt and the ripple effects some said they're already feeling.
Charlotte Banks, who attends another church in the area, showed up to Trinity Grace Church on Tuesday. She said for years she went to church and a small church group with the suspected shooter on Thursdays and Sundays, although she didn't know him well.
Banks said she is struggling to wrap her head around what's happened.
"I've known him for, I don't remember the exact time, maybe four years," Banks said. "And he comes even when there's snow on the ground and it's hard to ride this motor scootery thing and he comes on Sunday to the regular service. So reconciling that part with what he may have done is hard to do."
Banks said one minister told her, "Charlotte you're struggling with the fact that you have a soft place in your heart for a killer and trying to resolve that."
So Banks is turning to her community and her faith.
Redding Worth, who was at the parade with her parents when the shooting started, also came to the church on Tuesday.
"Basically the reason I wanted to be out here today is because I saw (that) we were all helping each other when that happened," Worth said. "People weren't screaming. They weren't pushing people away. They weren't trampling people. We were all kind of helping one another and so I think community events like this, when something really bad happens, is really important."
