This story was updated to add new information.
MADISON – At vigils across the city Tuesday night, Madison residents gathered together to mourn and to begin to process Monday’s deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, which killed a student and a teacher and left several others injured.
Some were closely tied to the school community. Some were not. But they were united in deep pain over the tragedy that had unfolded.
Hundreds of people gathered at the state Capitol downtown for a public vigil organized by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. They helped each other light candles and signed three crosses set on the grounds.
Charles Moore, executive director of Impact Christian Schools, which oversees religious schools including Abundant Life, told the Journal Sentinel at the vigil that “it’s hard to comprehend the shock” of what had happened. He said faculty and staff pray and prepare for situations like this, but being in the midst of it was unimaginable, and that the school would be closed until after Christmas break.
He asked the community not to waver in their prayers for those involved.
“There are still some very, very injured children in the hospital,” Moore said. “It doesn’t end on the first day, in the first couple of minutes. Lives have been torn apart.”
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told the crowd the city would never be the same and urged people to rely on each other during the difficult road ahead.
“Let us be a community where, when we see someone who needs help, that we are the first to extend our hands and to offer resources where they are needed,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Let us be a community that takes care of each other. That is where our focus is right now, on caring for everyone who has been impacted by this gun violence.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, both Madison Democrats, sent remarks from Washington expressing their sorrow and urging those gathered to take action against gun violence. Renee Moe, CEO of United Way of Dane County, recommended parents be good listeners to their children in the days ahead, limit media exposure and talk about how to support one another.
“There’s no blueprint for how to move forward,” Moe said.
As the vigil at the Capitol disbanded, five golden retrievers and their handlers reported for duty. They’ve gone through 2,000 hours of training to be emotional support dogs. During the vigil, many participants overcome with emotion had to step away.
“We had several people come up wanting to get away from all of the talk and just sit down quietly with the dogs,” said Rev. Chris Singer, president and CEO of Lutheran Church Charity, based in Northbrook, Illinois. “And whenever they do that, science shows it gives our bodies a chance to begin to relax.”
Singer told the Journal Sentinel that the ministry has 127 trained dogs across 27 states who show up in times of crisis. It wasn’t long ago that a set of eager golden retrievers went to comfort families who lost everything in Hurricane Helene.
In addition to furry friends like Samson, a 6-year-old golden retriever who has trained since he was 8 weeks old for moments like this, Lutheran Church Charity also had spiritual first aid responders at the vigil to help people navigate the pervasive sense of grief in the air.
“We have an opportunity to give space for people to share their story, their experiences and their feelings. And then we’re trained certified to be able to help them, especially if they’re stuck,” Singer said. “We provide that comfort and assurance that there’s love in so many forms, even when it’s hard to remember.”
At City Church in Madison, residents mourn in prayer and song
At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday night outside City Church in Madison, the non-denominational Christian church next door to Abundant Life Christian School, vehicles poured into the parking lot as police checked each car and pedestrian to ensure they were there for the vigil. Cars were lined up more than half a mile waiting to enter.
Outside the church, people embraced with heavy emotion. Organizers said no media would be allowed inside because it was a private place for the community to gather in prayer, but the church provided a livestream of the event on its website.
After a moving song, Lead Pastor Tom Flaherty thanked first responders and those who provided food and other resources over the past day. Quoting Psalms about looking for God during times of misery, Flaherty urged attendees who were at the school when the shooting happened not to blame themselves for anything they did or did not do.
“What happened yesterday over at ALCS was from hell,” Flaherty said. “For reasons that are unknown to us, God allowed it to happen.”
Before pausing for a time of silence, Flaherty asked those gathered to allow God into their hearts to comfort them.
Students plan nighttime vigil at Catholic parish on Madison’s west side
As the City Church service ended, another began at St. Maria Goretti Parish. The vigil was organized by senior students at St. Ambrose Academy, a private Catholic school with ties to Abundant Life Christian School.
More than 100 community members packed the pews of the triangular church building on Madison’s west side, grieving together by candlelight under wood-paneled ceilings and illustrations of the Stations of the Cross, which depicts each of the steps leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. As people came in, many of them youth, they embraced one another and tears were shed.
Reporters were not allowed to record the service or interview community members at the vigil. One administrator who declined to be interviewed said the focus should be on praying for the community.
The Rev. Scott Emerson, who led the vigil, reminded those in attendance that the church they gathered in is named for Saint Maria Goretti, a young girl in early 20th-century Italy who was stabbed multiple times and eventually died from her injuries. Before her death, she absolved her attacker, Emerson noted — a powerful statement of forgiveness.
“Some days, evil has its day. Scripture tells us to mourn, and we’re on the side of Christ when we mourn,” Emerson said. “It’s a holy thing to mourn.”
When the vigil ended, some left in silence. Others stayed to pray.
Current, former Wisconsin politicians offer condolences
On the U.S. House floor Tuesday night, Wisconsin representatives from both sides of the aisle led a moment of silence in honor of the lives lost in Madison. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Madison, shared his condolences for those impacted.
“I urge all of my colleagues to think about what we can do to prevent us from having to stand here again for yet another moment of silence,” Pocan said. “We must do better and we must turn these moments of silence into moments of action.”
At the state Capitol Tuesday, 10 Republicans electors met to cast Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who was one of the electors, spoke to those gathered about the shooting, saying the school was “very close” to where he lived for 24 years.
“All of us as Republicans are very concerned, very sad about what took place,” Thompson said. “My heart goes out to the parents, the teachers and especially the kids in that school … we’re praying for them and wishing them the best.”
Candles and flowers left outside Abundant Life Christian School
Around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, Megan Mojica and Kamila Reynolds were setting up candles outside the school. Both school bus drivers in the Madison area, they said they wanted to show up to honor the lives that were lost and the many families affected by the shooting.
Mojica said her son encountered gun violence in a shooting incident at Waukesha South High in 2019, where a police officer shot and injured an 18-year-old student who had pointed a pellet gun.
“My son was the child that had the gun in his face,” Mojica said. “So I know firsthand what it’s like to go through something like this.”
“Surround yourself with family and friends, because with time, you will be able to overcome,” she said she would say to those who were affected by Monday’s events.
Reynolds said the events shocked her.
“(Madison) is a good town,” she said. “And for something to happen like this … it’s surprising.”
After placing the candles and speaking with reporters, the two stepped aside to pray with a chaplain.
Middleton’s Blackhawk Church hosted Monday night vigil
In the hours after the shooting Monday, the staff at Blackhawk Church in Middleton made the decision to hold a last-minute evening prayer service.
They wanted to offer a “safe and sacred space” for people to gather for encouragement and prayer, said executive pastor Craig Gartland.
About 200 people attended the service, Gartland said, including many who aren’t regular churchgoers at Blackhawk.
“It’s important to be community and to offer community” to people who are anxious or fearful, Gartland said.
Blackhawk counts among its members more than 10 families with children at Abundant Life Christian School. Gartland said he did not know of any members who had been injured or killed in the shooting.
Tuesday night the evangelical church, which sees about 4,000 people attend Sunday services each week, is hosting a preplanned “Blue Christmas” service for people who are experiencing grief during the holiday season. It will be even more poignant this year.
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