GREENWOOD, Ind. — "Something like this, we're aware it happens but when it hits home, it kind of shakes you, so we just wanted to be here to show our support," said Greenwood resident Randy Pinegar.
Inside Greenwood's Amphitheater Park, community members and faith leaders were drawn together through grief on Friday night.
They lift up prayers for the the victims, the survivors and the first responders after Sunday's mass shooting inside Greenwood Park Mall left many people's faith shaken.
"I'm not just here representing the Muslim community to convey the sorrow and frustration at the mall incident. But I was there as a father, having father-daughter day there when that happened," said one speaker at the prayer vigil.
He shared moments from inside the food court just minutes before the shooting, unknowingly heading into a shop nearby when the violence broke out.
"And I commend the first responders, the cars after cars, ambulances coming in from each and every direction to take out that incident. I'm so proud of our first responders, how they acted. My prayers are for those who responded quickly and swiftly," he said.
Many made it out. Four people did not.
Three victims were killed, along with the shooter, identified as a Greenwood man, dead at the hands of an armed bystander who jumped in.
Before Eli Dicken shot and killed the shooter, ending his rampage in the mall, the shooter killed 30-year-old Victor Gomez, 37-year-old Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda and her husband 56-year-old Pedro Pineda.
Their deaths have been a hard hit for many.
"We are a very close-knit community, and this has devastated everyone. And we want those families to know that we are here for them and whatever we can do, we're here for them," said Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers.
Those here are hopeful that by coming together, by lifting their voices, they can grieve as a community and support the victims' families in this small way, letting them know they're not alone.
"I think we're so divided in different things, but I think that an event like this just allows people to come together and see that there's a whole lot more that unites us than separates us," Pinegar said.
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