‘I’m sorry we have to be here’: Bluffton, Hilton Head hold vigil for shooting victims
On one of the hottest days of summer, 75 people rallied outside of Pan Fresco Ole in Bluffton in a vigil for the 31 people who died over the weekend in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
Through the sweltering heat, local clergy and political leaders shared messages of remembrance and hope amid the tragedy.
“I’m sorry we have to be here,” organizer Mitch Siegel said. “But it is about guns. It is not about mental illness.”
Immigration-rights activists targeted anti-immigrant sentiment that may have motivated one of the alleged gunmen.
Kebin Lopez, a 23-year-old law school student, spoke about his Honduran roots and his 17 years living in the United States.
“I consider myself American. I know Bluffton. I know Hilton Head,” he said. “This land gave me hope.”
He said his mother and young sister will be shopping for school supplies on Amazon this year after a gunman opened fire in an El Paso Walmart and killed 22 people, including Mexican-Americans, seven Mexican citizens and one German citizen, according to TIME Magazine.
The vigil also served as a call to action after nearly 700 people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in workplace raids in Mississippi on Wednesday.
The immigration sweep caught many parents, whose children were left in the care of strangers after the first day of school.
“What will happen to those children who have to go back to school today?” Immigration lawyer Aimee Deverall asked the crowd. “Bring the anger and frustration you have to vote.”
The vigil was sponsored by Lowcountry Indivisible and Moms Demand Action.
