Hundreds of people gathered in Zionsville’s Mulberry Fields Park Sept. 21 for a twilight vigil to commemorate conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated two weeks earlier during an appearance at a Utah college campus.
The vigil started five hours after tens of thousands of people, including President Donald Trump, attended a memorial service for Kirk in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Mourners in Mulberry Park, who came from as far away as Terre Haute for the event, held a candlelight vigil at dusk commemorating Kirk. Bagpipers and praise bands performed. Zionsville police estimated the crowd at about 1,000.
Leann Manns, of Frankfort, said that she did not follow Kirk before his death. However, since his death, she has learned more about him and now is inspired to work to bring others into the faith.
“Charlie Kirk’s ministry and what he did and what he was passionate for and what he died for, it literally impacted my life,” she said. “We need to get back to the solid grounds of where our faith belongs and that’s in Christ Jesus and we need to keep carrying that forward.”
Kathleen Poland, a member of the Boone County Republicans Party which helped organize the event, said that she and a few friends were texting after they heard of the murder and expressing their anger and sadness.
“And we said we need to just do something,” she said.
So she and her friends started praying and reaching out to all of their resources. They then got a group of students together from area high schools to help organize.
“We wanted it to be student-led because Charlie Kirk was a gift to the youth and they lost that,” Polan said, tearing up.
She added that she hoped that some good comes out of the tragedy of Kirk’s death.
“I want Jesus to be raised up in our community…. I want his name to be glorified and I want Charlie Kirk’s name to be remembered for all the good that he did and for all the truth that he spoke,” she said.
Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘A gift to the youth’: Hundreds mourn Charlie Kirk in Zionsville memorial service
Reporting by Jade Jackson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
