ALLEN, Texas — Mourners are finding comfort at a growing memorial outside of the outlet mall in Allen, Texas where a gunman shot and killed eight people last weekend. For many, it’s a way to pay tribute and cope with this tragedy.
Some silently penned their sentiments on tributes posted in memory of the victims near the eight crosses, each bearing the name of someone taken too soon.
Trying to understand how someone could shoot three children and five adults is impossible. On this day, we didn’t ask questions. We simply pulled out a couple of chairs, sat down, and listened.
One by one, mourners poured out their hearts to KHOU 11 anchor Cheryl Mercedes.
"My name is Brandy and I've lived here my whole life. I haven't been able to stop crying. And just to think of these little kids that will no longer get to live out their life, or the ones that do and don't get to have their parents anymore. It just breaks every piece of my heart apart."
"I'm Laura Cahoon from McKinney, Texas and I just wonder why that man did this."
There’s just something about opening up that’s helping them heal.
"My name is Suzannah Wiedemann. I live about three miles from here. Yesterday, I slept a lot. I just, I just took a day to just rest. I was depressed. Today, I felt a little bit better, I felt a little more revived."
For some, that sadness has turned to anger, directed mostly at politicians.
"My name is Samantha Cheb and what I want to say is that this was avoidable. This doesn't have to be happening. Our lawmakers need to take the guns, particularly the AR-15s, that can erase a woman's face, and they need to get them out of the hands of civilians. This was avoidable."
Lauren Morrison, a still photographer who's been capturing the tragedy for a school research project, took a seat too.
"Even though I have my professional camera, I'm photographing this on a disposable camera. Because just like politicians, they deem our lives disposable," she said.
"It just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like we've caught whoever did this. We still feel like there's evil around us," Brandy said.
But being here, surrounded by others who are hurting too, is perhaps a sign that there still is good in this world.