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‘It cannot continue this way’: Annapolis grieves those killed in weekend mass shootings

  • People clasp hands in a vigil mourning mass shootings and...

    Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette

    People clasp hands in a vigil mourning mass shootings and other victims of gun violence in there lobby of the Arundel Center in Annapolis, where it was moved because of rain. The Anne Arundel County Gun Violence Prevention Task Force organized the vigil.

  • Bishop Charles Carroll, co-chair of the Anne Arundel County Gun...

    Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette

    Bishop Charles Carroll, co-chair of the Anne Arundel County Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, speaks at a vigil mourning mass shootings and other victims of gun violence in there lobby of the Arundel Center in Annapolis, where it was moved because of rain.

  • States Attorney Anne Colt Leitess speaks at a vigil mourning...

    Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette

    States Attorney Anne Colt Leitess speaks at a vigil mourning mass shootings and other victims of gun violence in there lobby of the Arundel Center in Annapolis, where it was moved because of rain.

  • Acting Mayor and Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, with Bishop Charles...

    Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette

    Acting Mayor and Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, with Bishop Charles Carroll, speaks the names of those murdered in El Paso and Dayton at a vigil mourning mass shootings and other victims of gun violence in there lobby of the Arundel Center in Annapolis, where it was moved because of rain.

  • People clasp hands in a vigil mourning mass shootings and...

    Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette

    People clasp hands in a vigil mourning mass shootings and other victims of gun violence in there lobby of the Arundel Center in Annapolis, where it was moved because of rain. The Anne Arundel County Gun Violence Prevention Task Force organized the vigil.

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Jordan Anchondo. Andre Anchondo. Arturo Benavidez. Leonard Cipeda Campos. David Alvah Johnson. Maria Legarreta Rothe.

Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles read the names slowly, as a bell gently tinkled for each.

They were soccer fanatics, avid marathon runner, teachers, mothers, sons. Some were remembered for their smiles, their protective nature — others for their strong faith in God, their perseverance and grit. One was five days from earning his master’s in exercise physiology.

All were killed over the weekend in two mass shootings, less than 24 hours apart from one another.

Elected officials, activists and Annapolis residents came together Wednesday evening to grieve those gunned down in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and the lives lost to gun violence in their city. Some wiped away tears and hugged as Charles shared the names and stories of the 31 people killed in El Paso and Dayton.

Ivan Manzano. Gloria Irma Marquez. Maria Flores. Raul Flores. Jorge Calvillo Garcia. Adolf Cerros Hernandez.

Alexandra Matiella Novak’s voice strained with tears when it came her turn to address the crowd. Matiella Novak, a member of the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action, wore a shirt with “Ni Uno Mas” splashed across the front — “not one more,” in Spanish.

“I just want to let you know that your team here in Arundel County, we got your back,” she said. “And we’re going to fight as hard as we can to make sure we end gun violence.”

Maribel Loya. Margie Reckard. Sarah Esther Regaldo Moriel. Teresa Sanchez. Angelina “Angie” Englisbee. Juan Valazquez.

Bishop Charles Carroll, whose son was shot and killed in 2016, told the audience of about 25 people that they couldn’t afford to fall asleep on fighting against gun violence.

“Because those among us who are committing these types of acts are not sleeping. They’re just waiting for the next opportunity to take innocent lives,” said Carroll, who chairs the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

The task force, created in April by County Executive Steuart Pittman in response to the Capital Gazette shooting, hasn’t been sleeping. Carroll said they have been in “research mode” for the past few months, working to pull together a report with recommendations for fighting gun violence in Annapolis by May 2020.

Megan Betts. Derrick Fudge. Logan Turner. Nicholas Cumer. Thomas McNichols. Lois Oblesby. Alexander Gerhard Hoffman.

Carroll, a representative from the Office of Emergency Management, and newly confirmed Fire Chief Douglas Remaley also pleaded with people to step up and say something if they see someone acting suspiciously.

“That’s right, that’s right,” recently appointed Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson said quietly as the Emergency Management representative spoke.

Jackson later stepped up to the lectern to reassert this request, and criticize the “hate mongers” who he said cite the Constitution erroneously to fight against gun control measures.

He also vowed to Carroll that under his leadership, the police department would look at his son’s case with “fresh eyes” — after three years, nobody has been charged in the killing of Charles Carroll Jr.

And Jackson reaffirmed the pledge he made last week, when he was confirmed as the city’s police chief.

“I am committed to the preservation of life,” he said. “There’s no coming back once you lose your life. You come back from a lot of things. The biggest affront to me as a law enforcement professional is that somebody thinks it’s okay with impunity to come into a community and destroy lives.”

Saeed Saleh. Beatrice Warren-Curtis. Monica Brickhouse. Luis Alfonzo Juarez. Elsa Mendoza De La Mora.

Johntel Greene, chief of staff for Sen. Sarah Elfreth, said the team of women representing Annapolis in the Statehouse have been “walking the walk” on pushing for solutions. Last weekend, Elfreth, Del. Shaneka Henson and Del. Alice Cain visited the Robinwood community to connect with residents, who are deeply impacted by gun violence.

Greene said the representatives are also organizing a college bus tour in October in honor of Elijah Wilson, who was gunned down last month at 16 years old. Just a month earlier, beloved rapper Tre Da Kid was also shot and killed.

As Cain walked to the vigil on Wednesday, a light sprinkling of rain was falling. When she was little, she told the crowd, she was told that when it rained, it meant God was crying.

She said her heart, as well as the hearts of Henson and Elfreth, is with those who were killed over the weekend, their families and their communities. But even as she grieves, she said she can’t help but also feel a great deal of anger and outrage.

“We know it doesn’t have to be this way. And it cannot continue this way,” she said.