Dear Ones, it’s been 5 months since the El Paso shooting at a mid-town Walmart. Joining my friend Penny for today’s Thinking Out Loud Thursday post. She is thinking aloud about the Oscars. I am taking a look at how far we have come since that tragic day, August 3, 2019. And debating with myself about how I feel about the reopening of the store in November. Reopening little more than 3 months after one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history. An horrific event that claimed 22 lives and injured 26.
El Paso Shooting
The shooting happened on a Saturday morning, a few days before the annual back-to-school, tax-free weekend in El Paso, Texas. It was one of the incidents that had me relieved to say goodbye to 2019.
My Prince was on the way to his baseball game and I was home hoping to do a little housework, then maybe scrapbook with my sister. Just a few moments after PC left the house, my cell phone and his work phone began beeping with what sounded like an Amber Alert. But rather than being one alarm, the sound continued much longer. I realized something was different and checked my phone to find the message below:
Simultaneously, our home phone rang and it was Paul. He and the rest of the baseball team had received a text from one of the players who is also with the EPPD, saying he wouldn’t be at the game because of the emergency happening at the Cielo Vista Mall. I clicked on the TV to find news reports about an active shooter at the Walmart and then the mall in the Cielo Vista part of town. PC went on to his game, which had him playing until mid-afternoon. I sat glued to the television barely daring to breathe.
In the 5 Months Since
Since that day, El Paso has managed to regain its collective footing and begin to move forward.
That Day…
there was the creation of a makeshift memorial that went up almost immediately after the crime scene was determined to be safe. It was established at the behind the Walmart store. Turns out the shooter was never at the Cielo Vista Mall as it was first reported.
I went to the memorial on Thursday after the shooting that Saturday. The photo below is a panoramic view of the memorial in 5 day’s time. You can see the back of the store through the privacy screen on the chain link fence. The memorial was made up of posters, messages, prayer candles, flowers, balloons, stuffed animals much like I remembered seeing at the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Almost as immediately, marquees and billboards began promoting the message El Paso Strong and then, #ElPaSOSTRONG.
On the following day, our church, Abundant Living Faith Center, offered a message of strength and faith, and unity, encouraging parishioners not to give into fear. Our assistant pastor, Jared Nieman, reminded us that God is always good and always on our side. He suggested that if Walmart were to decide to reopen at the site of the shootings, we should support the decision. As doing otherwise would be allowing the enemy to win.
In the Weeks That Followed…
the work of combing through the evidence at the Walmart was tedious and time-consuming: “it took crime scene specialists more than 10 days to process blood and bone fragments at the scene.” [source] Suspected shooter, Patrick Crusius, 21, plead not guilty on 10.10.2019 during his first brief appearance in court. The monument continued to grow but there was talk of construction of a permanent memorial to honor the victims.
Plans for reopening the store came shortly after the police department completed the evidence-gathering. Once manned by armed security guards, this Walmart is an extremely busy store right off I-10, patronized by both El Paso citizens and shoppers from neighboring Juarez, Mexico. Sadly, security had been reduced sometime over the past 3 years.
Walmart Reopens…
three months and 11 days after the El Paso shooting, the Cielo Vista area Walmart reopened. “The company said the opening would not be a celebratory event, but a chance for it to show employees the changes its made internally and externally to the facility. That includes a new onsite memorial Walmart has planned called “The Grand Candela,” which will honor the victims of the El Paso mass shooting.” [source]
The day before the reopening, some items from the makeshift memorial were moved to nearby Ponder Park, the site of at least one candlelight vigil for the victims. Other items were removed or cataloged to be included in the city’s museum of history.
PC and I visited the new memorial at Ponder Park and tied orange ribbons to its chain link fence backdrop.
And the next day we stopped by the Walmart, not to go in but just to see. To see if others were shopping, or just filling the parking lot ‘just to see’ as we were.
The Grand Candela is Erected…
the weekend before Thanksgiving, Walmart lit its permanent memorial dedicated to the El Paso shooting victims and their families. The Grand Candela. The 30 foot golden obelisk is made up of 22 individual arcs, one for each life lost. It can be seen from I-10 in the store’s parking lot where the shooting began.
Each of the arcs features cut out in a distinct pattern. What do you see in the cut outs above?
The candela shape is symbolic of the many prayers candles or velas left at the site of the El Paso shooting.
A New Year
As of this article dated 12.06.2019, a date has yet to be determined for the trial of alleged shooter Patrick Crusius. Because of the huge volume of evidence collected and requiring review, a third lawyer has been added to the defense team. El Paso almost breathed a choral sigh of relief as we bid 2019 goodbye. But the healing may not come full circle until the gunman’s trial is behind us.
Thinking Out Loud Thursday
I was torn about the reopening of the Walmart store. Although, I agree with Paster Niemen’s message that we cannot give into fear, I am not sure it wouldn’t have better to have demolished this building and rebuilt in the same location. This store is about 15 miles from my home and I have a Walmart Super Center and a Walmart Neighborhood Market that I shop much closer. I have shopped at this store but only a time or two. It is certainly not for me to decide what should or shouldn’t have been done.
Similar Instances
The librarian in me decided to research what was done in the case of 3 school campuses that were the sites of mass shootings, Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Librarians are cautioned not to use Wikipedia as a primary source for anything. But I struggled to find information elsewhere.
The best I can tell, the 4 year old library at Columbine was the scene of of most of the shooting at that school. The library was torn down and a memorial atrium built in its place. A new library was built in a building separate from the rest of the campus.
In the case of Sandy Hook, the school was completely rebuilt. The old school building was demolished and the new building constructed in a different area of the same property. The school opened 3.5 years after the massacre.
I believe Marjory Stoneman Douglas or Parkland High School remains standing, with only the addition of a memorial garden unveiled almost a year after the tragedy.
Finally, there’s the Century 16 movie theater that was the site of another shooting. It reopened 6 months after the crime. Wonder why some of the buildings were demolished and others were reopened?
Your Turn
What do you think about Walmart reopening 3 months after the El Paso shooting? Is it giving into fear to tear down the sites of such tragedy? Or is it done out of respect to the lives lost and impacted by the tragedy? Would you shop at this Walmart if it was the store closest to your home?
It is a gray, cool January day. I am going to finish – a novelty for me – FINISH ironing and my kitchen reorganization and decluttering project. A winter goal. And say a little prayer for all of the victims of senseless shootings. Hope you will join me.
Hugs and kisses,
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
Interesting how some are demolished and some aren’t after the shootings. I don’t know what is best or how I would feel about that, especially if I were a family member of a victim. SO sad. I am really tired of all of these shootings, especially the school ones. It breaks my heart. I don’t know how anyone could be that mentally challenged or hold that much hate.
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I think some of our young kids have seen so much or become so desensitized that they don’t really even realize what they are doing. And that is pretty scary and sad.
Joanne Long
I don’t know what the right response to craziness is. Shootings seem so senseless and a sign of society’s failure to address the suffering of some of its members. Can you imagine the emotions of a person who goes to a shopping centre or school and kills people? But we also must acknowledge the innocent who have been victims of this rage. There are no answers.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I agree, Joanne. I think our mental health care system has deteriorated to the point that people who would have been receiving help and treatment 15-20 years ago, are no longer getting the help they need. And often times it seems those are the people committing these horrendous crimes. A couple of times in my teaching career, I came across a child who displayed such mental an emotional problems that I would swear he or she was going to become the kind of disturbed adult that commits a mass shooting. So sad.
Dee | Grammy's Grid
It’s sad when this happens and we’ve had enough of it happen!! What worries me about all of the reportings of the shootings is that it will lead to some changes or elimination of the Second Amendment which is something that NEVER needs to happen!! I feel safe when I go out in public because I’m able to carry my gun with me. You rarely hear reports on mainstream news about the legal carrier (concealed or open carry) that stopped such a shooting from taking place. Alternative news outlets tell those stories that most people never hear.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So true. I am thankful that those who can carry legally almost always do so with respect for society and the weapon. We have guns – but locked away in a closet. We need to go back to the range because I am not comfortable shooting my .38 special. And would not, in an emergency, do well at all.
Deb
What a thought provoking post. It’s a subject to which there is no right or wrong answer; if we change the way we live our lives out of fear for what might happen, then the person/group who committed the crime has won. The memorial that they have provided seems tasteful and respectful and it is right that those people should be remembered in the place where their lives were cut short. We can’t begin to imagine what goes on in the minds of those who carry out such acts and I don’t know how the families affected by their actions ever have peace of mind, there is no punishment that will make up for what they have lost. I can’t decide whether or not Walmart were right to rebuild so quickly, I guess the answer will be given by the residents of El Paso and whether or not they continue to shop there.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for your thoughtful response. It would be interesting to know how business was at this Walmart over the holidays compared with sales the same time last year, before the shooting. It has always been a very busy store, with 3000 customers estimated to have been in the store when the shooting occurred. I guess the loss of life could have been so much worse.
Dara
Thanks for sharing this. We had a shooting at our JCC and it remained open, now they have added a memorial there as well.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
It’s hard to know what is best. How did your community feel about returning to the JCC after the shooting? I think having a memorial to the lives lost helps with the adjustment.
em
Thank you for this, Leslie… There are a dozen thoughts in my head…aside from the tragedy itself.
Pros and cons of reopening…analogous to roadside memorials where people derive comfort by noting the scene of a loved one’s loss.
We live in such an angry world…remember when people who disagreed could have a conversation? We learn all about how bullying affects children, and have heard of countless anti-bullying initiatives. Yet adults now bully each other all day long on social media. Tragic. A bunch of idiots standing in a circle pointing at each other with zero self-awareness.
I think the Grand Candela memorial is lovely in its symbolism… and seems very Wal-mart…not that that matters. I like that it was erected relatively soon. It seems decisive, intentional, and reverent.
Thank you for sharing!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
You are right, it is a blessing that Wal-mart got the memorial up quickly and with some forethought behind it. Hope it will become a place where people feel safe and can reflect on this senseless loss of life, and perhaps think on ways to make their own lives better.
Nancy Dobbins
Hi Leslie,
So sad that we are seeing this repeated over and over. As an educator we routinely practiced “active shooter” drills to hopefully “increase survivability” …evolving from a “shelter in place” model – like the one used at Sandy Hook that made little children sitting ducks – to the “Alice” model where you flee if you can or fight back if you can’t. That made more sense.
I’m not sure what the answer is. Tighter gun control has not been the answer, so far. We can identify individuals at risk for violent behavior, but until they actually commit a crime nothing can be done.
Walmart and the theatre in Colorado are privately owned corporations with a bottom line…their decision simply to reopen with a memorial may have been a financial decision.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I believe you are right, the decision to reopen the theater and Walmart were probably financial ones. I don’t know what the answer is either. I would like to see cooling off periods reinstated before people can get guns. I wish we had better mental health care but people have to realize they have a problem, families need to be more aware of problems in their children. Thank you for the thoughtful comment.
Laura Bambrick
You bring up a good question. I have no idea if I would shop there or not. I think the memorial is beautiful and I love that they put it there, but working there or shopping there, the tragedy would always be in the back of my mind.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
That’s how I feel. I don’t think I could ever be on the property at that Walmart and not think about the shooting. I guess, for that matter, if they had torn down the building and rebuilt right there, I would still have thought about the shooting. We might be staring the enemy down by shopping at that Walmart but that doesn’t mean we aren’t afraid.
Amy Johnson
I can’t believe it’s been five months since the shooting. So sorry for everything your community has gone through.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Amy.
Kellyann Rohr
Gosh, i don’t know how I feel about the reopening of Wal-mart, I am conflicted. Living in Orlando where we have had the Pulse shooting and a few hours away the Marion Stoneman Douglas shooting, this is something I am sadly aware of. In both of these cases the building did not re-open. In fact the school is using portables while the building sits there unused – no one wants to go in.
It’s hard to move past these events and so heartbreaking for a community. I feel for El Paso, when will this violence end?
xo,
Kellyann