Lifestyle

Strong Highland Park: Grief and outrage converge in vigilance for Highland Park shooting victims; businesses start to reopen


HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (WLS) – Hundreds of people turned up for a candlelit ceremony honoring the victims of the Highland Park shooting and proclaimed “Enough!” to mass shootings and gun violence.

“We’ve been on too much of a warning about gun violence lately and it has to stop,” said one person who attended the vigil in Sunset Park.

“This is a different kind of grief, this is traumatic grief that most people never go through,” said Linda Davis, who witnessed Monday’s shooting.

“It is heartbreaking to see my community go through this pain,” said Jordana Hozman, vigil co-host and member of the North Shore March for our Lives.

State Representative Bob Morgan and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider were also present, as angry and upset as the communities they represent.

“We were just here,” Morgan lamented. “We were just here!”

Here there is no twinkling of July 4th, but candlelight and criss-crossing orange bands through the crowd. Orange has been used as the color of the movement against gun violence, most notably on Wear Orange Day, an annual celebration honoring Hadiya Pendleton and the tens of thousands of people killed with guns each year.

“We’re filling the space with orange to show the impact gun violence has on people’s lives,” Davis said.

“Each and all of these are holes in our hearts and communities,” Rep. Schneider said.

The strips are part of an art installation called “Enough,” a cry that resonates with the Highland Park community.

“We’ve struggled with the whole mass that we’ve survived but we’ve seen people get shot,” Davis said. “We can’t do this alone, we need everyone to come together to help us move forward because it will be a process.”

Businesses begin to reopen after Highland Park shooting

Many businesses on the periphery of the crime scene in Highland Park have yet to reopen. But others are starting.

Business owners said it was not an easy decision – the choice was mainly to keep their business growing and keep themselves busy and distracted.

“It’s heartbreaking. This is my community, my home. You just feel devastated and very vulnerable,” said Bonnie Tolan, a resident of Highland Park.

On the morning of July 4, as people ran for their lives, trying to escape the gunfire that erupted around them, Highland Park Cafe owner Young Choi found himself, one of the few businesses open doors, providing a safe haven for the entire family.

“Someone said, ‘Everyone come down, and then just go into the kitchen or the bathroom so no one can see us.” They are just screaming. Maybe 25 people were here,” said Choi, owner of Perfect Blend. “With strollers, babies, parents and a dog. They just walked in.”

After 21 years of operating from his Central Avenue location, Choi doesn’t want to reopen. But she did.

“My community needs to get back to normal life as quickly as possible,” Choi said.

Many others in the surrounding area did the same, as they struggled to regain a sense of normalcy.

RELATED: Father of Accused Parade Shooter Says He Has No Regrets Sponsoring FOID Cards, Says System Needs Overhaul

Many of the storefronts now read, “Strong Highland Park.”

Anat Borochov, owner of ABC Design Jewelers, said: “People are coming, you see a lot of pain in their faces. They are very worried.”

An Israeli resident, Borochov has lived in Highland Park for 37 years. Robert Crimo’s family lived a block away from her. She’s closed on Tuesdays, but reopens on Wednesdays.

“I feel like I have to open the door because I have an obligation to other clients and upcoming participants, and they’re waiting for happy moments and want certain things. They’re counting on me.” , said Borochov. “It’s horrifying to me, every day I have to go to my store and walk past, and see all the chairs and all the trolleys, what people leave behind. It feels awkward because they still want to come get their stuff, but they’re hurting too, and they, should I, should I?”

And then there’s the orthodontist Josh Gilbert.

He was at the parade with his family on Monday.

Returning to work was like serving his patients as well as keeping himself distracted and busy. But there are challenges.

“We have young patients also coming in, who are personally affected, and it’s hard to know what to say to these patients. People are being very quiet,” said Dr. Gilbert, with Gilbert Orthodontics know. “With kids, you don’t know. Everyone handles this differently. So we don’t want, if parents are having a hard time with their kids, we don’t want to trigger anyone. It was unintentional.”

In general, people in the business community are rallying around each other and the people they serve.

Borochov, the jewelry store owner, hopes to create a token to give to the injured.

RELATED: Dr Keely Roberts, superintendent of Zion School, twin sons among those shot at Highland Park parade

A Central Avenue bakery is planning a fundraiser on Friday, where it hopes to get kids in the area involved.

There’s a lot going on when people come together, trying as best they can to comfort each other as shock gives way to grief.

WATCH: Highland Park community continues to mourn those lost and injured in the shooting

Knowing them or not, many people have come to pay their respects to the victims and survivors of the July 4 shooting that left seven people dead and dozens more injured.

“My brother is actually related to one of the victims here, his grandfather, so we (come) to pay their respects. We feel really sad.” , North Shore resident Abigail Lopez said.

Pastor Donovan Price, a Chicago community activist, arrived in the North Shore suburb on Thursday, offering prayers and reminders of how closely we all really stick together.

“The pain people feel here is the same as the pain you feel in Englewood. The pain they feel here is the same. The tears I watch mothers cry this night Every other night in Chicago is the same,” says Price.

RELATED: ‘I’m OK, I’m OK’: Highland Park Parade Shooting Victim Says It’s Miracle She Survived

On Thursday morning, teams picked up abandoned items along the parade route during the chaos.

During the day, some ventured to the town’s high school to retrieve what was left.

To help heal, local gun violence advocates are inviting residents to Sunset Woods Park on Thursday night, not only to relieve their grief but also to rebuild a sense of community with Catholics. their Highlanders.

“I think, right now, a lot of people are feeling torn and torn, understandably; so I think this is going to be a great space for people to come together,” said Jordana Hozman, told March for Our Lives North Coast.

But for husband and father Giovani Flores, the days that followed were another test, as he struggled with how to keep his family safe.

“It just doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel safe anymore,” Flores said.

Copyright © 2022 WLS-TV. Copyright Registered.





Source link

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button