COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. — One year later, the community remembers the life of Olivia King and 13 others injured in a mass shooting attack at a Kroger in Collierville.
At a vigil held Friday night, community members say that even though the pain is still felt, so is the strength and resilience of this town.
Wes King lost his mother Olivia in last year’s mass shooting at a Collierville Kroger. He says there’s not a day that goes by where he doesn’t think about her.
“The hardest thing about the last year is to reconcile the fact that she’s gone. And the undeniable fact that she shouldn’t be,” King said.
The same is true for each person who came out to Collierville City Hall to honor her memory.
“There were a lot of heroes that day, I know that’s been said over and over again. But we live in a time right now where I think we need to remember there are heroes in our community, and we need to honor them,” King said. “There were heroes of all walks of life that day and I think it’s important to remember they reflected our city and our area with their courage.”
Sandy Bromley, director of the Shelby County Crime Victims and Rape Crisis Center, deals with victims of violent crimes every day. Her organization responded the day of the shooting, and has been a part of the victim’s lives every day since.
“It’s so important during those times to come together to talk about our trauma and talk about grief and start talking about healing,” Bromley said.
Every day has been tough, she says. But events like Friday night’s vigil helps the victims know they are not alone, which she says is pivotal to the grieving process.
“The town of Collierville, all its residents, have been amazing throughout this entire process,” Bromley said. “It’s so inspiring to see that group of people just come together for survivors.”
