At Abundant Life vigils in Madison, residents process their grief

This story has been updated to add new information.

MADISON – At vigils across the city Tuesday evening, Madison residents gathered to mourn and begin to process Monday’s deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School that killed a student and a teacher and injured several others .

Some were closely connected to the school community. Some weren’t. But they were united in deep pain at the tragedy that had unfolded.

Hundreds of people gathered in the state’s downtown area for a public vigil organized by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. They helped each other light candles and signed three crosses placed around the site.

Charles Moore, executive director of Impact Christian Schools, which oversees religious schools like Abundant Life, told the Journal Sentinel at the vigil that it was “hard to comprehend the shock” of what happened. He said that faculty and staff would pray and prepare for situations like this, but that finding themselves in the middle of this situation was unimaginable and that the school would remain closed until after the Christmas break.

He asked the community not to let up in their prayers for those involved.

“There are still some very, very injured children in the hospital,” Moore said. “It doesn’t end on the first day, in the first few minutes. Lives have been torn apart.”

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told the crowd that the city would never be the same and urged people to rely on each other on the difficult road ahead.

“Let’s be a community where when we see someone in need, we are the first to reach out and offer resources where they are needed,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Let us be a community that cares for one another. That’s our focus now, caring for everyone affected by this gun violence.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, both Democrats from Madison, sent remarks from Washington expressing sadness and urging those gathered to take action against gun violence. Renee Moe, CEO of United Way of Dane County, recommended parents listen carefully to their children in the coming days, limit media exposure and talk about how they can support each other.

“There is no blueprint for how to proceed,” Moe said.

As the vigil at the Capitol dispersed, five golden retrievers and their handlers reported for duty. They have completed 2,000 hours of emotional support dog training. During the vigil, many participants overwhelmed with emotion were forced to resign.

“Several people came who wanted to get away from all the chatter and just sit quietly with the dogs,” said the Rev. Chris Singer, president and CEO of Lutheran Church Charity based in Northbrook, Illinois. “And whenever they do that, science shows, it gives our bodies a chance to relax.”

Singer told the Journal Sentinel that the department has 127 trained dogs in 27 states that step up in times of crisis. It wasn’t long ago that a group of eager golden retrievers brought comfort to families who had lost everything in Hurricane Helene.

In addition to furry friends like Samson, a 6-year-old golden retriever who has been training for moments like this since he was eight, Lutheran Church Charity also had spiritual first responders at the vigil to help people cope with the ever-present feeling of Sadness is in the air.

“We have the opportunity to give people space to share their stories, their experiences and their feelings. And then we are certified to be able to help them, especially when they get stuck,” Singer said. “We offer comfort and the reassurance that love exists in so many forms, even when it is difficult to remember.”

At City Church in Madison, residents mourn with prayers and songs

On Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m., vehicles streamed into the parking lot in front of City Church in Madison, the nondenominational Christian church next to Abundant Life Christian School, as police checked every car and pedestrian to make sure they were present for the vigil . Cars lined up for more than half a mile waiting to be let in.

Outside the church, people hugged each other with emotion. Organizers said media would not be allowed in as it was a private place where the community could gather for prayer. However, the church provided a livestream of the event on its website.

After a moving song, senior pastor Tom Flaherty thanked first responders and those who provided food and other resources over the past day. Citing psalms about seeking God in times of adversity, Flaherty urged attendees, who were at the school at the time of the shooting, not to blame themselves for anything they did or didn’t do.

“What happened yesterday at ALCS was hell,” Flaherty said. “For reasons we don’t know, God allowed it.”

Before observing a period of silence, Flaherty asked those gathered to allow God into their hearts to comfort them.

Students plan vigil at Catholic parish on Madison’s west side

When the service ended in the town church, another began in the parish of St. Maria Goretti. The vigil was organized by senior students at St. Ambrose Academy, a private Catholic school with ties to Abundant Life Christian School.

More than 100 parishioners crowded into the pews of the triangular church building on Madison’s west side and mourned together by candlelight beneath wood-paneled ceilings and illustrations of the Stations of the Cross, which depict each step of Jesus’ crucifixion. As people came in, many of them teenagers, they hugged each other and there were tears.

Reporters were not allowed to record the service or interview community members at the vigil. An administrator who declined an interview said the focus should be on prayer for the community.

The Rev. Scott Emerson, who led the vigil, reminded those in attendance that the church where they gathered is named after Saint Maria Goretti, a young girl in early 20th-century Italy who was stabbed multiple times and eventually died died of her injuries. Before her death, she pronounced her attacker acquittal, Emerson noted—a powerful declaration of forgiveness.

“Some days there is a time for evil. The Scriptures tell us to mourn, and when we mourn we stand with Christ,” Emerson said. “It is a sacred thing to mourn.”

When the vigil ended, some walked away in silence. Others stayed to pray.

Current former Wisconsin politicians offer their condolences

On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Wisconsin representatives from both sides held a moment of silence Tuesday evening to honor the lives lost in Madison. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Madison, expressed his condolences to those affected.

“I urge all of my colleagues to think about what we can do to avoid having to stand here again for another moment of silence,” Pocan said. “We need to do better and turn these moments of silence into moments of action.”

Ten Republican electors gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to cast Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, one of the voters, spoke to those gathered about the shooting, saying the school was “very close” to where he lived for 24 years.

“All of us as Republicans are very concerned and very sad about what happened,” Thompson said. “My condolences go out to the parents, the teachers and especially the children of this school… we pray for them and wish them all the best.”

Candles and flowers were left outside Abundant Life Christian School

On Tuesday morning around 10 a.m., Megan Mojica and Kamila Reynolds placed candles in front of the school. Both school bus drivers in the Madison area said they wanted to show up to honor those who died and the many families affected by the shooting.

Mojica said her son faced gun violence in a shooting at Waukesha South High in 2019, when a police officer shot and injured an 18-year-old student who was aiming a shotgun.

“My son was the kid who had the gun in his face,” Mojica said. “So I know firsthand what it’s like to go through something like that.”

“Surround yourself with family and friends because with time you will be able to cope,” she told those affected by Monday’s events.

Reynolds said the events shocked her.

“(Madison) is a good city,” she said. “And for something like this to happen…it’s surprising.”

After placing the candles and speaking to reporters, the two stepped aside to pray with a clergyman.

A vigil was held at Blackhawk Church in Middleton Monday evening

In the hours after Monday’s shooting, staff at Blackhawk Church in Middleton made the last-minute decision to hold an evening service.

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At Abundant Life vigils in Madison, residents process their grief

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