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San Bernardino shooting: Multiple vigils follow shooting
Jennifer and husband Roy Trules cry as the names of victims are read aloud during a moment of silence concluding a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015. Both were friends with 26-year-old Aurora Godoy of San Jacinto. Roy Trules first met Godoy more than three years ago when they both worked for the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Debbie Villa of San Bernardino takes part in a prayer led by Bishop Gerald Barnes during a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Attendees take part in a moment of silence as victims names are read aloud at the conclusion of a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Attendees flow into a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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"Though we are a bankrupt city and now a terrorized city, we will not be beaten," San Bernardino City Attorney Gary Saenz said during a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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"When they attack one of us, they attack all of us," San Bernardino Mayor Pro Tem Rikke Van Johnson said during a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Pastor John Beckley leads an opening prayer during a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Co-workers and friends of Yvette Velasco and Robert Adams hold signs in their memory during a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Attendees take part in a moment of silence as victims names are read aloud at the conclusion of a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Abigail Benitez of Loma Linda works near the Inland Regional Center and came to show her support of the San Bernardino community. "It's unfair that this has happened to this community," Benitez said.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Prayer and songs open a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Attendees stand as singers perform God Bless America during a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Prayer and songs open a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Celeste Guido, 11, left and mother Karina Gomez light candles before a vigil at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2015 following a mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 injured on Wednesday at the Inland Regional Center. "This city has been really good to us," Karina Gomez said. Her family has lived in San Bernardino for five years.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Thousands of people turned out in San Bernardino Thursday night for a candlelight vigil to honor the 14 victims of the mass shooting.
The smell of scented candles wafted through San Manuel Stadium as a roster of clergy and government officials took to the podium to encourage residents to stay strong amid the city’s struggles, which include bankruptcy.
“Though we are a bankrupt city, and now a terrorized city, we will not be beaten,” city attorney Gary Saenz said.
In the audience were the husband and three children of 46-year-old shooting victim Benneta Bet-Badal. The immigrant from Iran had worked as an inspector for the San Bernardino County Health Department, according to her husband Arlen Verdehyou.
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“She came to have a better life, better education and everything else," Verdehyou said, as he was flanked by his children, ages 10, 12, and 15. “Unfortunately, it was taken away from her at an early age.”
Bet-Badal’s 15-year-old daughter, Jolene said she was staying strong because her mother had said she “never wanted anybody to be sad for her if she went.”
“She was the one I’d talk to, mostly about everything,” Jolen said. “She knew all my secrets. She’s my best friend, basically.”
Bet-Badal worked for the same department as suspected shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, but her husband said she was based in another office in Rancho Cucamonga.
From a dais on the ballfield, speakers took their turns saying prayers and condemning the suspected attackers.
"San Bernardino may be down, but we're not out," Pastor John Beckley said.
Watch Beckley addressing the crowd gathered at the vigil:
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"When they attack one of us, they attack all of us," said San Bernardino Mayor Pro Tem Rikke Van Johnson.
Officials expressed thanks for the support San Bernardino has received from all over the country. San Bernadino’s mayor Carey Davis said he had received a call from President Obama,“offering whatever aid the White House could bring to bear to help our city to recover.”
The loudest applause was saved for first responders and San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan.
The stadium went quiet as the lights were switched off, and the victims’ names were announced over the speakers.
A mosque describing itself as the largest in San Bernardino County was also set to hold a prayer vigil at the same time Thursday evening. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA released a press release ahead of the vigil in which the president of one of the mosque's chapters, Ahsan Khan, said, "We condemn this senseless and horrific act of violence in the strongest possible terms."
He added, "Our Community has been in San Bernardino County for nearly three decades, and yet have never seen such depravity. Our hearts go out to the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with them as their neighbors and brothers and sisters in peace."
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The vigil was being held at Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said that cousins Rama Alshreteh and Samar Natour were being photographed at a vigil at a mosque. KPCC regrets the error.
This story has been updated.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
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