Circle of Silence held for victims of Texas elementary school shooting

CARLISLE, Pa. (WHTM) -- Communities in the Midstate are remembering the victims of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. A few dozen people gathered in Carlisle Sunday for a vigil to remember the 21 lives lost.

Organizers called the vigil a Circle of Silence. They wanted to create a space to grieve and reflect on how to create change.

The Circle of Silence lasted 21 minutes, one minute for each of the 19 children and two adults killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting.

"Horror...a heart-wrenching feeling," Kathy Copenhaver said, describing how she felt hearing the news. "It was incomprehensible for me to be happening again and again."

The day after the shooting, Copenhaver wanted to do something concrete. She reached out to her friend Kimberly Largent, who suggested organizing a vigil.

"Even though we're so many states away from Uvalde, Texas, we're grieving also," Largent said.

Sunday afternoon, the two women set up a circle of empty chairs: two adult chairs and 19 for children.

"We placed white roses in them," Largent said.

They also collected dozens of teddy bears to donate to the city of Uvalde. Largent said one woman donated 21 teddy bears.

Largent and Copenhaver created the vigil and the 21 minutes of silence as a time for people to reflect and remember.

"Sometimes it just helps people to get in touch with their emotions, their compassion," Largent said.

That is exactly why social worker Sara Agerton came.

"I never want to just be like there's another school shooting," she said.

Agerton said she worries people are becoming numb to mass shootings, particularly in schools.

"Our children over and over again are being victims of gun violence and mental illness and we have to do something different," she said.

For Agerton, coming to this vigil alongside her community is a reminder that everyone needs to work together and keep pushing for change.

"These are the people that care," she said. "We need more of this, more reflection, more silence."

"The best ideas come from silence, so let's see," Largent said.

Largent and Copenhaver said while the vigil is a time to grieve, they want people to take the next step: action. Largent said she hopes people go back to their communities and start conversations with their friends, family and local lawmakers to brainstorm solutions.