ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- One month ago, five people were killed in Annapolis when a gunman opened fire at the Capital Gazette newspaper.
The shooting ripped families apart but also brought a community closer together.
The city held a benefit concert to honor the victims on Saturday, and hundreds of people made it a point to show up.
There was food, beer, and loud music at the benefit show on Calvert Street in downtown Annapolis.
People stood in solidarity to honor the five people killed at the Capital Gazette last month.
“They were innocent journalists gunned down, and we’re not going to let people forget that,” Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley said.
“I’ve spent the last month telling people I’m hanging in there, and it’s kind of hitting me over the last few hours that I’m not really hanging in there,” Andrea Chamblee, wife of John McNamara, said.
“It’s emotional all of the time — just thinking about what happened,” Paul Gillespie, who is a Capital Gazette Photojournalist, told WUSA9.
Gillespie was inside of the newsroom when the shooting happened.
“I’m not only grieving but I’m also having something traumatic happen to me,” he said. “It was horrendous. I wish it on nobody. I don’t want this to ever happen to anybody else ever again.”
The community also took time to recognize first responders at the concert.
“They’re the real heroes here. If it wasn’t for them, more lives would have been lost,” Mayor Buckley said.
Maryland-bred rock band Good Charlotte headlined the concert as the community vowed to never forget the victims.
Mayor Buckley hoped the event would inspire change and hopefully prevent other shootings like this from happening again.
“We can’t just say ‘well what can we do about it? It’s impossible. We have to keep fighting,’ the mayor said.
The city hopes to put on the concert every year to honor the victims.
The suspect, John Ramos, remains behind bars facing five counts of first-degree murder.
