Lexington residents stand holding signs for group photo
Ten people were killed and three others were injured during the mass shooting in a supermarket in Buffalo last Saturday. Almost all of the victims were Black. (Courtesy of Subhash Roy)

On Sunday evening, a group of over 40 residents gathered at Hastings Park on short notice for a Vigil for Buffalo “to express our heartache, horror, and solidarity with those affected by this racist massacre,” Valerie Overton wrote in an email to LexObserver. Ten people were killed and three others were injured during the mass shooting in a supermarket in Buffalo last Saturday. Almost all of the victims were Black.

Jonathan Suber of the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) delivered opening remarks at the vigil. “I can only think that these people were engaged in the everyday activities of life. They were shopping, something we all do on a regular basis. We don’t think of shopping to be a dangerous activity,” he reflected in a follow-up email, calling the shooting “terrorism.”

Participants then read five of the names and biographies of those killed available at that time, and others delivered prepared and spontaneous remarks honoring the victims and condemning the shooting.

The vigil was organized by members of the Lexington Community Coalition and Together we Rise in collaboration with the ABCL. Representatives from several AAPI cultural groups joined the event, as well as Police Chief Michael McLean, who spoke. Organizers brought a sympathy/solidarity banner to be signed and sent to Buffalo.

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  1. Pingback: Heartbreak, anguish, rage touch Lexington following massacre of 21 at Uvalde elementary school - The Lexington Observer
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