ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Dozens of people came out for a vigil Monday night to express their grief over school shootings and solidarity with the victims.
The vigil came less than a week after a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead and dozens injured.
"If it can happen in Parkland, Florida, it can happen in Cincinnati, Ohio," Kim Wolke said.
Wolke kept her 12-year-old daughter, Hannah, close as they prayed for peace after that shooting.
"The children that were in Sandy Hook, they should have been sixth-graders, like Hannah. So that's just resonated with me when all this happened on Wednesday," Wolke said.
The vigil Monday was held at Beech Acres Park in Anderson Township. Those who attended wrote messages of support for the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
"'You are truly all special,' and then I drew a rose," Hannah said.
Organizer Lily McBreen said she couldn't stay silent after another senseless school shooting.
"I wanted it to be the last time I ever have to see this happen, and that's a big dream, but I just needed to do something," McBreen said.
She said the vigil was a way to let those in Florida and our own community know that no one is alone.
"I look uo to Mr. Rogers a lot," Peter Hawisher-Faul said. "He told kids, 'Look for the helpers,' ... and part of that advice is to be the helpers."
The vigil isn't expected to be the only local call for change. Student walk-outs are planned in the Tri-State and around the country on March 14, the one-month anniversary of the shooting.
