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Vigil For Orlando Shooting Victims To Be Held In Old Town

DAVID GOLDMAN / AP
Mourners gather around candles lit during a vigil after the deadly shooting at the Pulse Orlando nightclub on Sunday.

A quiet vigil to remember the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando will take place downtown on Wednesday.

The Wichita Coalition Against Gun Violence will host a vigil to reflect on the 49 victims who lost their lives, as well as for those who were injured. The shootings occurred early Sunday morning at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Police killed the gunman.

Rev. Michael Poage, the vigil's organizer, says that the local community can come together after the tragic event.

"There will be some very quiet music, quiet prayer or reflection, some words of hope, the reading of the names of the victims," Poage says. "You know, most of us won’t or can’t attend funerals of all of these people, and we can’t talk to the families, but we can talk to each other."

Poage says people are shocked and are looking for a place to gather, show compassion and build community and trust.

The vigil gets underway on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Oldtown Warren Theatre.

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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

 

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.