‘Let our neighbors be loved.’ Sunday vigil unites grieving community through prayer

Three days after the deadly shooting that claimed five lives and injured two more people, some Raleigh residents turned to their faith to make sense of the senseless act.

At a prayer vigil at First Alliance Church in east Raleigh, just a few miles from the Hedingham neighborhood where the shooting occurred, about 25 people gathered outside Sunday evening to pray and talk openly about how they felt.

“We just love our neighbors and we care about our neighborhood,” said Dan Rothra, the pastor of the church on Buffaloe Road.

He said the prayer vigil was intended to be a safe space for people to gather.

“When this thing happened on Thursday, I really felt like we wanted to make room to just say we care about our community,” Rothra said.

Every Saturday for the last few years, the small church gives produce items to nearby residents and visitors and offers to pray for people.

Praying for victims and others

On Thursday, a 15-year-old suspect opened fire, disrupting the quiet of the northeast Raleigh neighborhood just after 5 p.m. Five people were killed, including Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres, Nicole Connors, James Thompson, Mary Marshall and Susan Karnatz.

Two other people were injured, Raleigh police officer Casey Joseph Clark and Marcille Gardner. Clark was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital but as of Sunday, Gardner still remained in intensive care.

“This is a time of deep distress that we have not known here in all of my memory,” Rothra said.

Attendees sat in chairs or stood quietly on the pavement in front of the church’s entrance to listen to prayers and scriptures as cars drove by on the busy road.

Some lifted prayers for churches, elected officials, teachers, children, and Knightdale High School, where a victim and the alleged shooter were students.

Others asked for prayers for law enforcement officers and news media reporters. Others asked for prayers for the victims and their families who don’t have their loved ones anymore.

One church member prayed for mental health professionals and counselors and the challenges they face in trying to help people.

“I think it’s really important because our mental health system is not functioning, especially for lower-income people, and it needs to improve,” said Margarete Hermanson. “Anger is hurting other people, when you’re angry or depressed or afraid and you turn it inward.”

Rothra extended an invitation for people at the vigil and in the community to come by to visit the church if they needed prayer or a listening ear.

“We just want to care for our neighbors,” he said. “I don’t have a big agenda except to just let our neighbors be loved.”