Victims recalled with heavy hearts on one-year anniverary of LA Fitness shootings
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People gather Wednesday night at a memorial display at the LA Fitness Center in Collier.
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Rain gave way to a breeze Wednesday as dozens of people gathered near a Bridgeville church, lowered their heads and prayed.
One mile away, others who remembered the terror -- or felt its reverberations -- stood by a small plot of grass outside the LA Fitness Center in Collier, placing more than 30 flower bouquets against a white fence.
For the small community bonded by George Sodini's shooting rampage at the fitness center one year ago, Wednesday was a special anniversary.
"I had to do something," said Jennifer Rose, 28, of Brookline, who hid in a closet when Mr. Sodini opened fire in a dance class and shot 12 women -- killing three -- before turning the gun on himself.
"It's a part of me," she said. "It always will be."
As the exact time of the shooting approached, Ms. Rose left a candle outside the fitness center.
Twelve roses, each marked with a name, lay on the grass under a laminated card with a typed message: "My heart is heavy with so much grief still."
Connie Moneck said she still had her sister's phone number programmed into her phone, though Heidi Overmier, a 46-year-old single mother, died in the attack.
"I still go to pick up the phone to ask her for a recipe or ask her to do something," Ms. Moneck said.
During the last few months, her tight-knit family has channeled its grief into a labor of love, planning and building a memorial outside Ms. Overmier's church, First United Methodist Church of Bridgeville.
Wednesday, about 80 people -- friends, family members, fellow victims and strangers -- gathered near the church to dedicate the Heidi Overmier Memorial Prayer Garden.
"Everything our family does is together," Ms. Moneck said.
Rege Schuchert, Ms. Overmier's brother-in-law and a professional landscaper, built the memorial with the help of his nephews, traveling each day from North Huntingdon.
The stone cross, flanked by flower pots, sits off a cobblestone path in front of the church, a small waterfall spilling from its base.
First Published August 5, 2010 12:00 am
