Just a day after many Americans are reeling after a woman was killed and over 20 others were wounded after the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade, Illinois' second-largest city is remembering those lost in a tragedy that continues to affect the community.
Five years ago on Thursday, a disgruntled worker at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora killed five people in a shooting that also left five police officers wounded before he was killed by responding police officers
Residents remembered the tragedy at a candlelight vigil at the Belle Salle Events Center in Aurora.
"If I had to pick my favorite superhero, it would be my father. Nothing could break him," Emily Pinkard, the daughter of one of the victims said.
For Tom Wehner, he remembers his son who was looking forward to transferring to the company's Tennessee plant to be near his girlfriend.
"He really had his future set on what he wanted to do, and it just breaks my heart that I didn't get to see him go through his plans and grow up," Wehner said.
For the first responders who worked the tragedy, Thursday's anniversary is a dark reminder of one of their most difficult days.
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"That day is without a doubt one of the most difficult days of my career, and it changed me. It changed many of us," Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross said.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin proclaimed that the city honor each of the men killed on their respective birthdays, telling residents that their "loved ones are forever written in the pages of Aurora's history."
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The ceremony culminated with the unveiling of a memorial bench donated by the Pratt Company that dons the names of the tragedy's victims.
