As the sunset set Wednesday night, Sept. 6, a grieving community gathered in a field nearly two weeks to the minute from when a mass shooting shattered their sense of safety, leaving three people dead and six more wounded.
The vigil for the victims and survivors of the Cook’s Corner shooting drew patrons of the popular roadhouse grill in Trabuco Canyon, community and faith leaders, first responders from that night and dozens more looking to start healing the heartbreak caused when an ex-police office barged in and began shooting at his estranged wife, police say, and other patrons during the weekly $8 spaghetti night.
“I’ve spent more than half of my life at Cook’s Corner, working there. I love Cook’s Corner, it is my world,” said manager Rhonda Palmeri, who attended the vigil with owner Costas Papacharalambous. “We are not going to let this bring us down.”
Palmeri gave a solemn speech, tearing up throughout, offering condolences to the victims and their families, the workers at Cook’s Corner and the first responders.
Becky Guropolis, a canyon resident for more than two decades, said the community has a grief “thick of suffering, of pain” and people are looking to restore Cook’s Corner to what it was, and not just let it be “the place that was shot up.”
“It has been solemn in the community,” Guropolis said of the days since the shooting. “It is honestly hard to even describe the feeling. We have lived in Trabuco for close to 23 years and this is one of the worst hits to the community I have ever experienced.”
The vigil was held in the field off Santiago Canyon Road next to the Library of the Canyons. Several dozen people attended, with the Lifestyle Cycles group riding up on their motorcycles.
During the brief program, county leaders said the community has shown resilience and will continue to heal from the shooting.
“We are here to thank the good people who call Cook’s Corner their home, because of what they…
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