FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)-- A group of Fayetteville residents gathered in front of the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Tuesday night to grieve for the over 550 victims of the Las Vegas shooting.
The group Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America organized the event.
Nicole Clowney, the local group lead, said they saw a need for a place to grieve and wanted to fill that hole.
She said when she saw the news for the first time, all she could think about was that those people are someone's children.
“If there is anything we can do to keep this from happening to somebody else’s children, that is our responsibility," Clowney said. "You know there are a ton of emotions. There’s sadness, there’s fear, there’s anger but at the end of the day we have to come together with respect and strength and unity.”
One of the attendees of the event was Sidney Burris.
He explained he has a history with advocating for gun safety in the country and that he would like to see a focus on specific legislation like universal background checks to possibly prevent another tragedy like this from happening.
“So that whenever our citizens become unhappy or dissatisfied, distressed using a gun becomes less and less of a reasonable alternative," Burris said.
Before leaving on his trip to Puerto Rico, President Trump did address gun legislation.
He said that the US will be quote, "talking about gun laws as time goes by."
Even if that conversation happens tomorrow or months from now, Burris said Tuesday night was about telling the victims of this shooting that they are not alone.
“I can’t express my grief enough for what the citizens of Las Vegas, the family members who have lost loved ones, the family of the shooter, the entire community of bereaved people they’re… they’re our focus tonight," Burris said.
At the event, no words were spoken.
Everyone there received a candle to light and the church bells rang 59 times, one for each of the people killed by Stephen Paddock.