Thousands gathered at a baseball field in El Paso to remember the victims of the massacre at a local Walmart on Saturday.
A young gunman reported to hold anti-immigrant views opened fire on Saturday afternoon, killing 20 people and wounding 26 others.
At a nearby park, mourners shed tears, embraced, and said prayers during the candlelight vigil on Sunday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman from El Paso who is now running for the Democratic nomination for president, spoke at the event, as did El Paso Mayor Dee Margo.
People hold up their phones during a prayer and candle vigil organized by the city of El Paso after a shooting left 20 people dead at the Cielo Vista Mall Wal-Mart
It was the second fatal shooting in less than a week at a Walmart store in the US and comes after a mass shooting in California last weekend
The vigil was held at a local baseball field not far from the Walmart where Saturday’s shooting took place
A number of religious leaders from nearby churches also addressed the mourners.
Lupe Lopez held a picture of a close friend, Elsa Mendoza Marquez, a teacher from Juarez, the Mexican town just across the border.
Lopez said Marquez regularly traveled to El Paso. She came over on Saturday to do some back-to-school shopping at Walmart while her husband and son waited in the car.
‘She never came out,’ Lopez said.
Marquez was one of six Mexican nationals who were killed in the shooting, according to Mexico’s government.
Lopez said that El Paso is a tight knit community.
‘Somebody came from out of town just to do this to us,’ she said.
Samantha Salazar (left) and Sarah Estrada (right) join mourners gathered at Ponder Park in El Paso
A group of men embrace during a vigil a day after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso on Sunday
Cathe Hill wipes tears from her eyes during a vigil for victims of Saturday’s mass shooting at a shopping complex
Mourners holding candles and the state flag of Texas are seen above in El Paso on Sunday
El Paso mourned the 20 people who were killed by a gunman on Saturday
‘We’re going to be strong. It’s just going to take time to heal.
‘It’s hard for people living here in El Paso. It’s hard for all of us.’
Georgina Perez of the Texas State Board of Education shed tears while she addressed the crowd and told the story of a 13-year-old student killed in the shooting while doing back-to-school shopping.
‘When you return to school, talk to your students,’ she told the crowd.
‘Comfort your teachers. Let them ask you their questions. And be there to hold their hands and hug them should they need it.
‘And if there’s anything you need from any of us, we’ll do the back-to-school shopping for you.’
Margo told the crowd that he visited the hospital on Sunday and met a 10-week-old baby whose parents were killed in the shooting.
Beto O’Rourke (center), the Democratic candidate for president, takes part in a rally against hate in El Paso on Sunday
Mourners pay their respects during the vigil in El Paso on Sunday
Amber Ruiz and Jazmyn Blake embrace during a vigil a day after a mass shooting at a Walmart store
Serenity Lara cries during a vigil a day after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso
‘This hate-filled individual from out of town will not define this community. We will come together, and we will overcome this,’ said El Paso Mayor Dee Margo
He also noted that the alleged gunman, Patrick Crusius, was not from El Paso.
‘This hate-filled individual from out of town will not define this community. We will come together, and we will overcome this,’ he said.
O’Rourke told the crowd that El Paso is one of the safest cities in the country ‘not despite, but because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers and refugees.’
House Rep. Will Hurd, the Republican congressman, also addressed the crowd.
‘El Paso, we are telling the rest of the world that if you come into our community and try to scare us, we will not cower,’ he said.
‘If you try to come into our community and spread hate, we will respond with love.’
Mourners shed tears and weep during the vigil in El Paso on Sunday
Three Walmart employees who were present during the shooting, react on stage during a prayer and candle vigil
A mourner at the vigil holds up her cell phone in lieu of candles at the interfaith vigil in El Paso
Mariachi player and El Paso resident Sebastian Gonzalez (right) hugs a woman at the conclusion of an interfaith vigil
Meanwhile, the suspect’s grandparents say they are ‘devastated’ and are praying for the victims.
A family friend read a statement from Larry and Cynthia Brown, grandparents of Patrick Crusius, on Sunday outside the couple’s Allen, Texas, home, KDFW-TV reports.
The Browns say Crusius lived at their home while he attended Collin College in nearby McKinney.
They say that while his driver’s license shows the Allen residence, Crusius moved out of the home six weeks ago.