Wooster community memorializes students and teachers killed in Uvalde school shooting

WOOSTER – Rosanna Ralston stood on the Central Christian Church front lawn Tuesday evening looking at 21 chairs topped with stuffed animals and flowers.

Each chair was labeled with the name and photo of the 19 children and two teachers who were killed May 24 in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

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"I thought after Sandy Hook something would change, but I feel like nothing will change," Ralston said between the noise of passing cars. "Moms Demand Action is a good place to start to make change."

A number of local residents walked or drove from nearby neighborhoods, including Democratic candidate Mark Gooch, who is running for state representative.

Others stopped by or attended to see what was happening, unaware of the vigil.

Erica Ewing led the event to honor those who were killed in Uvalde, bring people together and allow attendees to express their grief.

The last-minute vigil was organized the night before when Ewing posted about it on Facebook, she said.

"I didn't really do much organizing; the chairs were already here," she said.

Three days earlier, Jan Douglas decided to make a statement and set up the chairs early on Saturday morning. Within hours, in a spontaneous act, people placed stuffed animals and flowers on the chairs.

"I wanted to bring people together and talk about this horrible event," Ewing said.

Raising awareness after decades of mass shootings

Douglas, a 75-year-old secretary at Central Christian Church figured the country would change after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

There, nearly 10 years ago, a gunman killed 20 first graders and six adults.

"I don't know how many times we have to go through this," Douglas said. "I thought Sandy Hook would be it, but it wasn't."

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Now, as research shows firearms are the leading cause of death among teens and children, Douglas wants to see change.

"I want people to think about this and realize that this could happen anywhere, even in Wooster," Douglas said. "I don't feel that those who have the power to change things are doing enough."

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At least 12 high-profile school shootings killed 43 students and six adults since 2012, not including the shooting in Uvalde, according to a USA TODAY report.

There were 26 school shootings in 2022 that resulted in injuries or deaths in the U.S. before the Uvalde rampage, USA TODAY reported. Six people, including five students, died in those shootings.

These numbers don't include other mass shootings over the years in places like the May 14 shooting in Buffalo, New York, where a gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket.

Other such incidents include the shooting at Pulse Orlando Nightclub in Florida that killed 49 people in 2016, and the Las Vegas concert shooting in 2017 that left 61 people dead.

"In grade school, we were taught how to protect ourselves at school if the bombs dropped (during the Cold War)," Douglas said. "Now kids are learning how to protect themselves from shooters."

An outpouring of local support

Douglas didn't expect so much local support.

Just hours after she set up the chairs early Saturday, someone placed a stuffed animal on a chair, sparking a small movement, she said.

"It snowballed into a bunch of people putting stuffed animals and flowers out there," Douglas said.

Three days after set-up, most seats were full of toys and flowers, leaving many to place items in the grass around the legs of each chair.

While each seat had different items, all had a battery-powered candle, a single penny and a white faux flower.

"It's heartening to watch people show such kindness," she said.

Douglas doesn't know how long the chairs will remain, but she said each item will be donated to a local charity or Wooster Community Hospital.

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Northwestern Local School District places chairs at graduation

Northwestern High School in West Salem also placed 21 chairs during its senior commencement on Sunday to memorialize those killed in Uvalde.

Blue and white balloons were tied to the seats with two signs in the front that read, "Northwestern Class of 2022 sending thoughts and prayers to Uvalde, Texas."

"We felt that the graduation belongs to our seniors, so (Principle) Randall approached them with the idea," said Jeffrey N. Layton, superintendent of Northwestern Local Schools.

As one last act before graduating, some seniors made the signs that went with the chairs, Layton said.

Reach Bryce by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com

On Twitter: @Bryce_Buyakie

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Vigil, memorial organized for 21 killed in Texas school shooting