A large crowd filled North Lee Street in Bloomington for a candlelight vigil Monday night, sharing memories and releasing balloons in front of the home where four people were found dead over the weekend.
Emotions were raw as different speakers addressed the crowd.
“There’s a black cloud right now over Bloomington,” said Allante Bennett, the father of Armoni Bennett, 13, a beloved Bloomington Junior High student who was among the dead.
Amber Thompson of Lexington also addressed the vigil crowd. She told WGLT that her 31-year-old sister, Chelsea Lusher, and nephew, Armoni Bennett, were among those killed. Thompson said the community could learn from her sister’s death.
“If you’re in a domestic violence relationship, get out. Run! It’s not worth it. For real, it’s not worth it. I just lost my sister and nephew to domestic violence. My nieces lost their mom and their brother to domestic violence,” Thompson said. (Police say their investigation so far suggests Lusher's boyfriend, Christopher H. Simmons, shot all three victims and then killed himself. Police say the gun was found under Simmons' body.)
Thompson previously told WGLT her sister’s best friend, Trina Hollings, 30, was also in the home and among the dead. Several members of Hollings' family were also in attendance at the vigil, including cousin Amber Burnett. She said Hollings and Lusher were childhood friends and always together. She said her cousin was a “beautiful spirit” and was like an aunt to Lusher's children.
“They keep saying Trina was in the wrong place at the wrong time because this was Chelsea's situation or whatever. Trina wasn’t in no wrong place at nobody’s wrong time. She was with her best friend like she was every day,” Burnett told WGLT.
Courtney Lusher, who is Thompson’s brother, shared a call to action with the vigil crowd.
“Let’s reach out and protect one another! Let’s reach out and call someone. Let’s reach out and check on a neighbor. Let’s do something different than nobody’s ever done in this town. Mow your neighbor’s yard. Go make sure the heat’s working in winter. Let’s do this! Let’s stick together. Let’s ride together,” he said.
The vigil attracted those from around the neighborhood too. The home, at 914 ½ N. Lee St., is just down the block from Bent Elementary School and a few blocks away from Downtown Bloomington. The crowd packed in front of the home’s front porch Monday night.
Mary Beth Kirk lives nearby on Roosevelt Street. She brought white roses to the vigil and was giving them out to those who she thought needed them. “I thought they’d instill a little peace and love,” she said.
Kirk said she’s lived in the neighborhood for 35 years.
“People in this neighborhood thrive. We have people who come and go. I’m sure any neighborhood does, but I would not move for any amount of money in the world. … We’ve never had one problem,” Kirk said. “We’re just all devastated. We’re here to show our support. It’s a terrible tragedy.”
Authorities provided little information about the deaths prior to Monday's vigil. Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe and Police Chief Jamal Simington were on scene at Monday's vigil. Simington declined to comment to a WGLT reporter, saying a press release would be issued sometime later Monday night. That happened around 9 p.m.
Mwilambwe defended the police departments’ reluctance to provide information to the public, citing an ongoing investigation.
“BPD is running point on that, and that’s the most important thing that we have to be careful about,” the mayor said following Monday’s city council meeting, which the city cut short so that the council, staff and public could attend the vigil.
“I am sure the public wants to know, but whenever BPD is ready to release information, they will,” the mayor said, echoing the authorities’ earlier statements that the matter was not a public threat.
