A large crowd gathered for a vigil held outside Our Lady of Sacred Heart church in Springfield this week to honor the lives of a grandmother and her young granddaughter who were killed two two weeks ago.
Public officials including Mayor Dominic J. Sarno and Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood ed residents and family and friends at a Mass service before the vigil to honor the family of 10-year-old Aubrianna Serra and her 52-year-old grandmother, Kim Fairbanks, who were shot by a neighbor in her apartment on Aug. 14.
Sean Adams, Aubrianna's uncle, held a candle outside the church for his niece and said he's still overwhelmed.
"Gun violence is never going to go away, no matter how many restrictions, how many laws you make on it,” Adams said. “You have legal gun owners. You have illegal gun owners. It's going to happen across the world. It's the mental illness, the drugs and everything. That's what causes a lot of this stuff."
Father Ryan Rooney who led the Mass service said the crowd is a confirmation that Springfield residents have had enough of the violence and that there are still good people in the city.
“We just hope that this light continues to grow in our city and that more people, wherever violence shows its ugly head, will come together and continue this message of peace,” Rooney said.
Sarno said he is investing in community centers that have drug-addiction programs and mental health resources. He said there’s going to be a new initiative where police officers are going to give out es with information about community centers on them before making an initial arrest.
“We're going to give them to our police department to give to the families and kids. Officers are saying, ‘hey, we don't want to put the cuffs on. You take this and go to one of these community centers,’” Sarno said.
So far, there have been 23 homicides in Springfield this year.
