SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The San Bernardino community came together in grief Thursday night, but they left with new strength.
Music soothed the savagely beaten down community of San Bernardino, so hard hit by Wednesday's shooting. And in the space music couldn't fill in the hearts of the thousands who attended Thursday night's vigil, a psalm stepped in. "The Lord draws near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit," said Pastor Joshua Beckley, San Bernardino.
These spirits may be crushed, these hearts broken, but this crowd loudly agreed not to let the mass murderers force them to live in fear. They will move on, but they will not forget.
Among the crowd, thousands of candles to light the way for the people of San Bernardino and we talked to several people for whom the candles meant a lot more than just light. For Amber Guerrero and her son, two candles are their tribute to Julie Pios, a victim of the tragedy still hospitalized Thursday night. They're comforted by the presence of so many others with the same grief. "I just want to be here. I can't do anything for her or her family, so I feel like this is something that'll make me feel better myself."
And standing outside the stadium, carrying a sign of Prayers and love for the victims, a Muslim woman, also refusing to let this stand. While the attackers may have followed the same faith as she does, she needed her community to know they do not represent her or her beliefs. "I mean, all I can do is act for myself and be a human myself and show people I have a heart and show up to events like this and hope that other people will see that and understand that not everyone is a bad Muslim," explained Sara Natour, Redlands.
This community may be broken, but in one act of togetherness, they proved they will not be destroyed.