The small town of Sebring, Florida, struggles to make sense of 5 shooting deaths
SEBRING, Fla. – Shock and a deep sense of loss resonated through this tiny community Friday morning, many talking about the eerie sounds of sirens heard two days earlier.
For a community that prides itself on its friendliness and willingness to help others in need, the shooting deaths of four employees and a customer at a SunTrust Bank branch Wednesday left many wondering why and struggling to cope with what comes next.
As funerals were being planned Friday for the shooting victims, community leaders, clergy and others were realizing just how tough it's going to be to move forward and heal – and maybe look to forgive the accused shooter.
"There is a high level of people being on guard right now," said the Rev. George Miller of Emanuel United Church of Christ in Sebring. "And I don't think many people are used to that feeling of what it's like to be on guard and anxious."
And forgiveness?
"Forgiveness takes a long time if we are to honestly forgive someone," Miller said.
Healing doesn't come easy
Sebring, a city of nearly 11,000, is joining a growing list of Florida communities where a shooting tragedy has forced residents to comprehend a horrific act of violence.
Healing, community leaders have found, is arduous and doesn't come easy.
More: Nearly 200 attend church vigil for victim of Sebring bank shooting
More: Florida bank shooting victims, 4 employees and 1 customer, are all women
For example, as the city of Parkland in Broward County nears the one-year anniversary of the killing of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the mayor there, Christine Hunschofsky, said the community is dedicated to helping others.
"In a small, tight-knit community like Sebring, which is like ours in Parkland, it's not just a part of the city that's impacted," Hunschofsky said. "It's all-encompassing. When a tragedy hits a community it's so natural and easy to focus on everything that's wrong that it's very important to also look at what's right."
Hunschofsky had just returned Friday from a U.S. Conference of Mayor's event in Washington, D.C., and met privately with the mayors of Orlando, Pittsburgh and Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss mass shootings in those cities.
She sees old wounds in Parkland re-opening with the approach of the Feb. 14 anniversary of the shooting.
It's been more than two years since Omar Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando in June 2016. Police officers killed Mateen at the scene.
“There are no words of comfort we can provide to the traumatized and grieving families and the entire Sebring community during these dark hours, but we want to let you all know that we stand with you," said Barbara Poma, Pulse owner and executive director of onePULSE Foundation.
The Pulse community knows all too well the journey Sebring has begun, she said.
"Once again a tragic shooting has taken the lives of innocent people, and we are left wondering how we can end the cycle of violence. It is too much, and we must, as a country, pursue a path that will prevent these tragedies and show we value love over hate.”
Victims
The diner, which boasts the best biscuits-and-gravy in the area, is also next to Highlands Regional Medical Center, where victims were brought after Wednesday's shooting.
The sirens from law enforcement rushing along U.S 27 had many customers nervously peering from the diner's window the day of the shooting.
The incoming ambulances to the medical center confirmed the worst of what was then circulating on social media.
Police said Sebring resident Zephen Xaver, 21, walked into the bank and used a 9mm handgun to shoot and kill five women inside the bank, execution-style. A sixth person, who was in a back room, fled and called police.
Four of the victims have been identified: Employees Ana Piñon-Williams, 38; Marisol Lopez, 55, of Lake Placid; Jessica Montague, 31; and customer Cynthia Watson, 65, of Venus.
The identity of the fifth victim, who police said is 54, is being withheld at the request of the family.
The withholding of victims' names is made possible by a state constitutional amendment expanding victims' rights that Florida voters approved in November.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for people to donate to the family of Montague, a GoFundMe representative said.
Not first tragedy
In his office in a colonial brick building off U.S. 27, Sebring Mayor John Shoop, who also is community president of CenterState Bank, is still struggling to make sense of the tragedy.
Years ago, he helped open that SunTrust branch, and he knew the employees there.
“You live in a small town where everything kind of goes on like it’s Mayberry," Shoop said, "and when something like this happens, it’s as if it is happening to you."
It's not the area's first brush with tragedy.
Hurricane Irma pounded the community in September 2017, destroying numerous homes and businesses.
Last May in nearby Lake Placid, a 40-year-old sheriff's deputy was shot and killed after responding to a dispute over a cat.
And now this.
Jose Sanchez struggled with tears Friday morning talking about Montague, a longtime friend he met nearly 10 years ago when she was a cashier at a Walmart in Avon Park. He remained friends with Montague and her husband as she switched careers and began working at SunTrust.
"I was hoping she was not involved," Sanchez said, as word began to spread Wednesday about the shooting.
When her death was confirmed, he was heartbroken.
"It's heart-wrenching," Sanchez said, holding a framed photo of Montague. "It's just so hard."
A candlelight vigil for all the victims is scheduled Sunday Hundreds, if not thousands, are expected to a attend.
Healing will come, but it won't be easy Shoop said.
"It’s starting to settle in that this is reality," he said. "The outside has kind of collapsed upon us."
Follow Wayne Price on Twitter: @Fla2dayBiz
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: The small town of Sebring, Florida, struggles to make sense of 5 shooting deaths
