AURORA, Ill. – The victims of a gunman’s rampage at a manufacturing plant were memorialized in a prayer vigil Sunday as authorities investigated how the killer had…
AURORA, Ill. – The victims of a gunman’s rampage at a manufacturing plant were memorialized in a prayer vigil Sunday as authorities investigated how the killer had a firearm almost five years after his permit was revoked.
The Aurora Prayer Coalition and area churches hosted the vigil at the Henry Pratt Co., where police said Gary Martin fatally shot five co-workers and wounded six other people, including five police officers, before being killed in a gunfight.
Hundreds gathered at the site, heads bowed as clergy led them in prayer on a cold, rainy afternoon. Another prayer vigil was set for later Sunday.
The Kane County Coroner’s Office said autopsies performed on three victims – Russell Beyer, 47, Trevor Wehner, 21, and Clayton Parks, 32 – determined a preliminary cause of their deaths as multiple gunshot wounds. An autopsy on Martin, 45, resulted in the same findings, the coroner’s office said.
The wounded officers ranged in age from 24 to 53.
