Aurora police

Funeral Services Set for 3 of 5 Victims of Workplace Shooting in Aurora

The first funeral will take place Wednesday

Funeral services have been announced for three of the five people killed in a workplace shooting in Aurora last week

The first funeral will take place Wednesday, when Trevor Melvin Wehner, 21, will be laid to rest in Sheridan, Illinois. 

A visitation will take place from 2-7 p.m. with a funeral service beginning at 7 p.m. at the Gabel-Dunn Funeral Home Ltd., located at 333 W. Church St., according to the funeral home. After the service, visitors will also be invited to the Sheridan Fire Department "for further celebration of Trevor's life." 

“He just wanted to care for others and be there for them and make everything better,” Wehner’s brother Thomas said. “God tells us to forgive and I think that’s what I’m going to do.”

On Friday, Russell Beyer and Vicente Juarez will also be laid to rest. Visitations for both men will be held Thursday afternoon and evening. 

Beyer's family will hold a visitation from 3-8 p.m. Thursday at Dieterle Memorial Home in Montgomery, Illinois. The funeral will take place at 10 a.m. at the same location with interment at Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Aurora. 

"Russell was a fun, loving gentle giant of a guy, who was friends with everyone," a tribute on the funeral home's website read. "Russell would truly give you the shirt off of his back. He was an extremely proud and dedicated union guy. A great Dad, Son, Brother, and Uncle. Russell will be forever missed by his family and so many more." 

A visition is scheduled for Juarez from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at the Dunn Family Funeral Home With Crematory in Oswego. A funeral will follow at 10 a.m. Friday at the same location. He is expected to be buried at Spring Lake Cemetery in Aurora. 

"He was a hardworking, responsible and loving husband, father and grandfather," an obituary on the funeral home's website read. "Vicente could always be heard shouting out loud 'Ay Mija' anytime the weather took a turn for the worst all while comforting his family with laughs. Vicente had a passion for working on cars with his sons, and had a soft spot for a particular 1969 Chevy Impala."

All three were working at the Henry Pratt Company when a recently-fired employee opened fire, killing five people and wounding several others, including numerous police officers. 

Wehner, a student at Northern Illinois University who was set to graduate in the spring of 2019, was at his first day as an intern at the Aurora company when he was gunned down. Police believe that Wehner was sitting in on the meeting in which gunman Gary Martin was fired before he pulled out a pistol and began shooting. 

Beyer was a union shop chairman and 25-year employee of company. Juarez was a fork lift operator and 15-year employee of the Aurora plant. 

During the spree, the recently-fired Martin also shot two other Henry Pratt employees, authorities said. The men who died have been identified as Clayton Parks and Josh Pinkard. 

Officers responded at 1:28 p.m. to multiple calls of an active shooter at the Henry Pratt Company at 641 Archer Avenue, according to Aurora police. AT least five officers were then wounded during an exchange of gunfire with the shooter, who was eventually shot and killed by police.

Employees returned Monday to the suburban factory where grief counselors were made available for all workers at the company, located at 641 Archer Ave. in Aurora.

No work was being done Monday, a spokeswoman for parent company Mueller Water Products said in a statement, but it was simply a day for employees to "seek counselling, be together, get information" and more.

The company was discussing when Henry Pratt would return to full production, the spokeswoman said, though it is expected to begin next week. 

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