They went to their churches on the evening after Easter — to cry, to light candles, to ask God why, on this holiday of rebirth, they must mourn so much death.
Many in Louisville turned to their faith for impromptu services Monday night, hours after a gunman killed five of his co-workers at Old National Bank downtown and injured eight others.
Hundreds gathered at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, where one of the victims, Joshua Barrick, was an active member. His family sat in the front pews, and fellow congregants hugged them and wept.
“He was so well known, he made himself known,” the Rev. Shayne Duvall said. “This community is mourning. We’re trying to wrap our heads around it.
Barrick, 40, was a senior vice president at Old National Bank, and Duvall remembered him as a big guy with a bubbly personality. He had a wife and two young children, one girl and one boy, who attended the parish’s grade school. Barrick coached basketball for first and second graders — a charismatic, charming man who patiently wrangled the little kids.
Duvall said he spent most of the day with Barrick’s family and friends.
“They’re in shock. Everyone is just kind of walking around in a fog. Like, ‘Did this really just happen?’” he said. “This has been a beautiful morning. Who thought, ‘I’m going to work today and something like this could happen?’”
Police say the 25-year-old gunman opened fire around 8:30 a.m. Monday while livestreaming the attack on Instagram. Barrick and four of his co-workers were killed: Tommy Elliott, 63, also a bank senior vice president; Jim Tutt Jr., 64, a commercial real estate market executive; Juliana Farmer, 45, a loan analyst; and Deana Eckert, 57, an executive administrative officer.
Elliott was prominent in Democratic politics, and a close friend of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Beshear struggled at a news conference Monday afternoon to understand how such horror could happen the day after Easter.
“We lost four children of God today — one of whom is one of my closest friends,” Beshear said, his voice quivering. “We need love for each other. It seems like we argue so much in this country, so much anger. And I still believe that love and compassion and humanity can lead us to a better place. This is hard, it’s really hard, the day after Easter. Easter is about a rebirth, a better world, one where we’re all supposed to work together to get there.”
Elliott’s network of friends included Louisville native Lonnie Ali, widow of the late boxing great Muhammad Ali, both of whom grew up in Louisville. She pointed to Elliott’s sense of humor and commitment to his community.