A day after a shooting in Dallas that killed five police officers and wounded others, there will be a candlelight vigil in Bloomington tonight.
The vigil will take place on the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse, with attendees beginning to assemble at 9 p.m. and the vigil portion of the event starting at 9:30 p.m.
The event is being organized by the spouses and families of local police representing all agencies throughout Monroe County.
“It’s nothing official by any agency, it’s just the wives of the community wanting to get together and lift each other up,” Sara Hunter said.
Hunter, the wife of local police officer, said another wife called her early this morning and suggested they try and organize an event like this. From there, they began reaching out to people they knew in the law enforcement community to try and spread word of the event.
"I think all of us kind of woke up with the same emotion this morning," Hunter said. "Just a little unreal and obviously everybody’s hurting and scared and upset. It’s really important for us to come together and pray over our law enforcement community.”
While the event is being organized by family members of local law enforcement, Hunter said any member of the Bloomington community is welcome to attend.
Hunter said she feels like the whole world is hurting today, so anyone who feels affected by last night's events are welcome to attend.
"There’s so much anger and so much pain I just feel like everybody needs to come together," Hunter said. "We’re not stopping anybody from showing up who’s grieving or hurting right now or want to support anyone who’s grieving or hurting right now.”
The event is far from official, Hunter said. Other than the group prayer starting at 9:30 p.m., there's not much else planned. The only person expected to speak at the event will be one of the wives, who will simply lead the group prayer.
Those in attendance are encouraged to wear blue, bring a candle, a lighter and to turn their phone screen blue. The event is being organized by the wives and families of local police representing all agencies throughout Monroe County.
"I think that’s basically going to be it, everyone getting together and praying over one another, supporting each other, hugging each other," Hunter said. "I know a lot of us could really use a hug today.”
