Victims remembered and honored with memorials and ceremonies

Aug. 3, 2019 will forever be etched on the minds of El Pasoans as one of the city’s darkest days.

An estimated 3,000 people were inside the Cielo Vista Walmart Supercenter that Saturday morning when a lone man armed with an assault-style rifle entered the store, firing on customers and associates. The suspect, a 21-year-old white male, is believed to have driven roughly 650 miles from his home in a Dallas suburb to target people of Hispanic and Latino heritage. 

The Walmart is located close to the U.S.-Mexico border — Juarez is visible from the parking lot, just across U.S. Interstate 10 — and is a popular shopping destination for both El Pasoans and Mexican citizens alike. 

The attack is the deadliest domestic assault on Hispanic and Latino people. Although one year has passed, memories of the attack that claimed 23 lives on what should have been an ordinary, peaceful day are still vivid. A girls soccer team was fundraising near the store’s entrance. Families were buying supplies for the upcoming school year. And still others were doing their weekly grocery shopping.

A ‘very traumatic experience for everyone’

The victims were spouses, grandparents and children. They ranged in age from 15 to 90, and they hailed from three countries. Of the 23 people, nine were born in Mexico, though two were naturalized U.S. citizens. Alexander Hoffman, 66, was a German citizen who had lived in Juarez for decades. Another two dozen or so people were injured, and one Mexican citizen has been in and out of hospitals since the shooting.

El Paso-based Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de Leon, the consul general of Mexico, said the attack was a “very traumatic experience for everyone in this binational community.”

“A very high percentage of El Pasoans have family in Ciudad Juarez, and people from Juarez have family here in El Paso,” he said. “So this terrible act on Aug. 3, 2019, really had a big impact on both sides of the border. El Paso is considered one of the safest cities in the U.S., so nobody thought something like this could happen. Especially when someone from outside this community came especially to target Mexicans and Hispanic citizens — it affected everybody, not only the victims but the community in general.”

Indeed, the West Texas city consistently ranks among the top 10 safest large cities in the United States. In 2019, SafeWise ranked El Paso as the sixth-safest nationally. Many residents are quick to point out that an outsider is accused of carrying out the Walmart shootings. While no city is perfect, they say a friendly, welcoming spirit prevails in El Paso.

In the months since the atrocity, El Paso, a city of 680,000 people, and neighboring Juarez, a city of 1.3 million, have proven their resilience. There was an outpouring of grief, sympathy and support in the months following the massacre. The binational community rallied around the victims, raising funds to support the people injured in the shooting and the families of victims. Residents lined up to donate much-needed blood after the shooting. A permanent, bilingual memorial, called the Grand Candela, was installed in the parking lot of the Cielo Vista Walmart. Other tributes — including art, performances and ceremonies — have been widespread. And numerous memorial events have taken place in the days leading up to the one-year anniversary. More are slated for today. They’re all part of a multifaceted effort to show solidarity with the victims and families of victims, as well as part of the day-to-day work toward a collective sense of healing.

“It has been a process since that terrible day,” Ibarra said. “A lot of people have sought emotional services, psychological services because it really left a mark on everyone here. I believe this is the case for not only the Mexican families that were affected but for families of U.S. citizens that were affected as well.”

The Cielo Vista Walmart, located at 7101 Gateway Boulevard West, which remained closed for months after the shooting, reopened in November 2019. A visit to the location in recent days showed an almost ordinary scene. A year later, El Pasoans and the rest of the world are facing a new threat: the coronavirus pandemic, which is disproportionately affecting Latino communities and people of color. Shoppers wore protective masks as they pushed carts and ran otherwise routine errands.

Though El Paso is a growing, bustling city, its tight-knit community and large family networks give it a small-town feel. If people don’t have a family member or friend injured or killed in the attack, they often know of someone who did.

‘They heard gunshots’

El Pasoan Juan Apodaca, 68, visited the store recently to do some shopping. A resident of El Paso’s Lower Valley, he and his family regularly visit the Cielo Vista Walmart. His wife and daughter were in the store that fateful morning of the shooting. But, thankfully, he said, they were on the opposite side of the store from the gunman.

“They heard gunshots,” he said, “and they started running toward the back of the store.”

They were able to escape unharmed. Meanwhile, Apodaca’s sister-in-law had left the Walmart right before the shooting began. And his cousin was in the produce section — close to where the shooter entered the store — when it started.

“To her, it sounded like a cannon,” he said. “She took off toward the back running. Luckily, Walmart workers opened the back doors for them to run.”

Though a year has passed, Apodaca said his family still has emotional scars. The sound of fireworks, for instance, incites panic. And there’s deep sadness for the families who lost loved ones.

“My wife and daughter are constantly talking about it, and they feel very sorry for all the people who were killed,” he said.

Memorial pays tribute

On the south side of the store’s parking lot is the Grand Candela memorial, a golden spire comprising 22 “individually lit, perforated aluminum arcs bound together,” per the script on a nearby bronze plaque. At night, it glows — noticeable to nearby residents as well as passersby on the adjacent I-10. The memorial was installed in late 2019, before the recent death of yet another shooting victim, which is why there are not 23 columns. While it is a tribute, some El Pasoans, including Apodaca, had hoped for something more elaborate.

Guillermo “Memo” Garcia, 36, was helping host a girls soccer fundraiser near the store’s entrance when the shooter began firing. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized for months until he died in April 2020. He’s widely been described as a hero for protecting his two children, who were uninjured in the attack.

Among the heartbreaking stories to emerge is that of Andre Anchondo, 23, and Jordan Anchondo, 24, a young couple who perished shielding their baby from the attacker.

An outpouring of support for victims

Many El Paso and Juarez residents launched fundraising efforts to channel painful emotions into something positive. El Pasoan Gideon Kotkowski, 24, was having coffee with his mother Aug. 3, 2019, when news alerts lit up his phone. He soon learned there’d been a mass shooting in his hometown. The feelings of pain and shock were immediate. Kotkowski, who’s Hispanic, was jolted by the revelation that the shooter had come to El Paso to target people based on race.

“To me that was so heinous and dreadful of a reason — killing people like me,” he said, choking up during a phone interview. “I was truthfully taken aback.”

Kotkowski said he sprang into action alongside three friends — Arraby Gallagher, Martin Jeffers and John Ramirez — who’d all attended St. Clement’s school in El Paso. They created T-shirts with the message “El Paso Unidos,” which translates to “El Paso United,” to raise money for victims and to enhance the city’s unity and healing during such a devastating time. The T-shirts were black to signify the somberness of the moment, and they feature the city’s skyline and beloved mountains.

“El Paso isn’t just strong, but we’re a community united — not despite our Hispanic culture, but because of our Hispanic culture,” Kotkowski said.

Despite their lack of prior experience organizing a project of this scale, the four-person team had prepared a shirt design and launched a website within hours. By Sunday evening, one day after the attack, they’d already received about 60 orders. 

“Our goal was to raise $10,000,” Kotkowski said. “Ultimately, we ended up raising just under $7,000 for the victims. We saw it as a great success.”

All of the proceeds were donated to an El Paso shooting victims fund. 

It’s still possible to buy a shirt online, and proceeds will continue to be donated. Other retailers also now sell merchandise bearing the “El Paso Strong” slogan to raise money for victims.

A region shaken

El Paso is the largest city in the West Texas and southern New Mexico region. Many residents of less populous areas make their way to the city for shopping, medical appointments and entertainment, or to visit family and friends. 

The impact was felt in Las Cruces, New Mexico, located 40 miles north of El Paso. Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima said his wife is from El Paso and had planned to visit the Cielo Vista Walmart the morning of the shooting, but ultimately did not.

“This hits really close to home,” he said. “I think about it all the time. I feel for all the families. It was just evil — pure evil.”

Miyagishima said the shooting’s ripple effects were felt across the entire region.

“They’re our friends, our neighbors, our relatives,” he said. “They’re our brothers and sisters. It hurt.”

And while the community’s healing process is underway, Miyagishima said it’s going to take a while, particularly for the families directly affected. If there’s something people can do to counter racism, he said, it’s to spread a message to their children that human lives are valuable, regardless of race. And leaders have a role, too.

“It’s important for leaders in the community, leaders in the state, leaders in the nation to recognize that a lot of times, their words and their actions are followed,” he said.

The suspected gunman stands accused of dozens of charges in connection with the massacre.

Racial tensions rising

The shooting in El Paso occurred amid rising national political tensions surrounding a wave of migrants, mainly from Central America, making their way to the United States to seek asylum. 

The accused shooter, in a manifesto believed to be written by him, drew inspiration from a white attacker who killed Muslims in New Zealand — part of a troubling trend of extremist attacks by white supremacists.

President Donald Trump has been widely criticized for inflammatory language regarding asylum seekers, immigrants and Latinos. And while he decried the actions of the shooter in El Paso, some of the alleged attacker’s words seem to reflect those used by Trump. The accused shooter, in his suspected manifesto, claimed his attitudes pre-dated Trump’s presidency.

Ever since the attack in El Paso, tensions surrounding race in the United States have sharely risen, particularly since the police killing of George Floyd, who was black, in Minneapolis in May of this year. Protests, sometimes turning destructive, have swept the nation.

Across the country, Americans are grappling with long-held biases and racial injustices that persist against minorities.

For Ibarra, the one-year anniversary of the El Paso attack is a reminder for the community to remain vigilant against racism.

“The Consulate General in El Paso is here to serve them, to help them in any way that we can,” he said. “It’s important that they report any type of situation related to hate speech, to racism, to xenophobia, to supremacism. It’s important they report it so we can try to do something specific in coordination with U.S. authorities.”

For Ibarra, the shooting also calls to attention the prevalence of gun violence and ease of accessing firearms in the United States. He said that also ties into gun trafficking from the United States to Mexico.

Tributes scheduled

A series of tributes and memorial ceremonies are planned for today throughout El Paso. Residents can use hashtags on social media, such as #elpasostrong or #atimetoremember, to post memorial messages or reflections. El Pasoans are invited to place an orange ribbon on their door in solidarity with the victims. People also can visit El Paso’s Ponder Park, where they can place ribbons in honor of those murdered.

At 9 p.m. today, the El Paso Chamber will flash the city’s landmark lighted star, which sits on a slope of the Franklin Mountains, a total of 23 times in honor of the lives lost.

Abundant Living Faith Center, a nondenominational church, will host memorial services starting at 6:30 p.m. today at its two El Paso locations, 1000 Valley Crest Drive, and 7100 Desert Blvd. Social distancing guidelines and mask requirements will be in place. The church will also broadcast an online memorial at the same time.

Several congregants were directly affected by the shootings. One woman’s two nephews were both shot in the incident, and one of them died. Another member’s mother, grandmother and aunt were all victims in the shooting. Her aunt died.

“We had several other members of the church who were there in the building; they didn’t get shot, but they were in the building,” said Pastor Jared Nieman, who leads the church.

The church hosted several special projects in the wake of the shooting, including offering counseling to members and nonmembers, giving financial assistance to victims and their families, sending prayer teams to hospitals for support and organizing blood drives, among other initiatives. While there’s been a collective sense of grief, Nieman said he thinks the community is working its way through a traumatic experience.

“I believe El Paso is a very strong community,” he said. “I do believe we are in the process of healing, but I don’t want to speak for everyone and assume I could put everyone’s emotions in one place.”

A special memorial plaque honoring the victims will be unveiled today at the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso, 910 E. San Antonio Ave.

Ibarra said he believes the El Paso-Juarez community will emerge from the tragedy “stronger than they were before.”

“The unity and the solidarity that you can feel in this community is very remarkable,” he said. “For everyone, it’s important we continue supporting each other so the city and community can really continue moving on from this terrible situation.”

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Find El Paso Unidos T-shirts here. 

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A schedule of some memorial events

July 30 to Aug. 3 

∙ “A Time to Remember”: The public can upload pictures, art and stories on social media using the hashtags #elpasostrong and #atimetoremember. 

∙ Testimonial videos from first responders and words of encouragement by area leaders will air on the City and Museum of History Facebook page. 

July 31 to Aug. 3 

∙ The El Paso Museum of History will show a commemorative video on the digital wall outside of the museum. 

∙ The public can submit pictures and memories for the Digital Wall at www.digie.org. 

Aug. 2 to Aug. 15 

∙ Public art on I-10, along Airway and at the airport will be lit orange in honor of the victims. (Orange represents the national color for gun violence.) 

Aug. 3 

∙ The public can visit Ponder Park all day to place a commemorative orange ribbon in remembrance of the victims .

∙ The community can show support by placing an orange ribbon on their front door. 

Other notable memorials: 

∙ Names of victims to be added to Crime Victims Memorial at Yucca Park. 

∙ Commemorative billboard on I-10 (Airway and Geronimo) July 27 to Aug. 23. 

∙ Starting at 9 p.m. on Aug. 3 the El Paso Chamber will flash the Star on the Mountain 23 times, in 10-second intervals, in honor of the 23 victims.

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People who died as result of the Aug. 3, 2019 shootings

1. Andre Anchondo, 23

2. Jordan Anchondo, 24

3. Arturo Benavides, 60

4. Leonardo Campos, 41

5. Maria Muñoz Flores, 77

6. Raul Estrada Flores, 77

7. Jorge Calvillo García, 61

8. Guillermo “Memo” Garcia, 36*

9. Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, 68

10. Alexander Gerhard Hoffman, 66

11. David Johnson, 63

12. Luis Juarez, 90

13. Ivan Hileierto Manzano, 46

14. Elsa Marquez, 57

15. Gloria Irma Marquez, 61

16. Sara Regalado Monreal, 66

17. Maribel Loya, 56

18. Margie Reckard, 63

19. Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, 58

20. Javier Rodriguez, 15

21. Teresa Guerra Sanchez, 82

22. Angelina Silva-Englisbee, 86

23. Juan De Dios Velasquez, 77

*Guillermo “Memo” Garcia died in April 2020 after lengthy hospitalization from injuries he sustained in the shooting.