LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A community vigil for the five victims of the Old National Bank shooting was held Wednesday Night at the Muammd Ali Center in Louisville. There were some four-legged friends in attandence.
Lutheran Church Charities, a crisis response ministry based in Illinois, arrived in Louisville on Tuesday. They created memorials for the lives lost in Monday’s tragedy.
“We have our group out of Chicago who brought the hearts of mercy and compassion with the name of each of the victims on them,” said Doug Netherton, who works with Lutheran Church Charities.
Each memorial heart has a pen to encourage others to write words of love and hope.
In addition to the memorials, Lutheran Church Charities brought three LCC trained canine comfort dogs: Mercy, Caleb and Magdalene. This is not the first time the charity has responded to violence.
“The dogs and the crosses were both in Nashville a few weeks ago,” said Netherton, referring to the mass shooting the took the lives of three adults and three students at a private Christian school.
Lutheran Church Charities has traveled to several mass shooting sites, including Michigan State, Nashville and Las Vegas to bring comfort and hope to people who are grieving.
The charity says they will go where they are needed and invited.