The city of Boulder encouraged people across the US to pay silent tribute and hold a candle-lighting ceremony on Saturday night in memory of the victims of a mass shooting at a local supermarket last week.
Officials in the Colorado city asked participants to observe 10 minutes of silence and leave a candle or light in front of their homes at 8pm to honour the 10 people who were killed in the attack at the King Soopers store.
The ceremonies had to be held privately in lieu of a mass gathering because of coronavirus restrictions.
Boulder resident Susan Siertoa said: “It’s so important to remember the victims and do so with strong community. But right now we can’t because of the pandemic.
“Normally, we can gather around and show people that we’re in this together.”
The 30-year-old former chief executive of a Colorado tech start-up will leave a candle by her front window for 10 days in honour of Danny Stong, 20, Neven Stanisic, 23, Rikki Olds, 25, Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Teri Leiker, 51, Eric Talley, 51, Suzanne Fountain, 59, Kevin Mahoney, 61, Lynn Murray, 62, and Jody Waters, 65.
“There are lots of candles in windows on my street,” she said. “It’s comforting.”
Another resident, David A Humdy, said the ceremonies were important as a way to reflect on what happened.
“People are never going to forget. People are going to use it as a political battleground fight. And I think, before that, I’d just like the loss of life to be acknowledged,” he said.
The Boulder shootings occurred just days after another mass killing took place in Atlanta, where eight people were killed, six of them women of Asian descent.
