The Water Street Mall in Aurora fell silent for five minutes today in honor of the five killed in the February 15 mass shooting at the Henry Pratt building.
Interfaith leaders and legislative officials shared their thoughts with the assembled crowd.
“There are going to be people who will say ‘don’t politicize this moment.’ Please do. Politicize it because we’re not going to change anything unless we politicize this and talk about it. Because we’re not doing enough right now,” said Illinois’ 6th District Representative Sean Casten.
“As the days progress these victims have been transformed back into real people,” said Rabbi Edward Friedman of Temple B’Nai Israel. “Our neighbors, heads of families and in some cases fathers of children, children of parents, people just like us with plans and dreams and hopes and expectations, all shattered in a moment.”
The event was organized by Indivisible Aurora and concluded with a statement from the newly-formed One Aurora, a student activism group formed in the wake of the shooting.
“We lost five lives on Friday,” said Emilio Rivera, a co-founder of the group. “Five lives that should have never been taken from us. Five lives that could have returned home today and been with their families. But tragically, we lost those people.”
One Aurora hopes to organize events and fundraisers to help the families of those affected by the shooting.
For now, donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/aurorastrong.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski and Christian Canizal collaborated for this story.
