City of Odessa officials on fourth annual commemoration of shootings: 'Numerous events are scheduled this week'

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Odessa City Councilmember Greg Connell, left, helps a volunteer erect a memorial flag at Memorial Gardens Park. | City of Odessa | Facebook

The city of Odessa has begun its commemorations of the fourth anniversary of the fatal Aug. 31, 2019, shootings that claimed the lives of eight people and injured 28. Per the city’s Facebook page, flags bearing the words “ODESSA STRONG” and a victim’s name were erected at Memorial Gardens Park on Aug. 29 and will remain there through a little after the Labor Day holiday.

“Thursday marks the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting,” the city wrote in an Aug. 29 Facebook post. “Numerous events are scheduled this week.”

Citing KMID 2 and KPEJ 24, Midland Times previously reported the killing spree occurred in Odessa and Midland, the Permian Basin’s two largest cities. Killed in the tragedy were 29-year-old U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee Mary Granados, 15-year-old Odessa High School student Leilah Hernandez, Army veteran Kameron Brown, 25-year-old San Antonio resident Edwin Peregrino, 57-year-old business owner Rudolfo Arco, 35-year-old truck driver Raul Garcia, and 40-year-old married father of two Joe Griffith.

According to the previous report, the University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB) will host a Shine a Light Sunrise Service in partnership with the city, Odessa Chamber, Odessa Arts, The Bridge, and Vitalant on the exact day of the shootings. The commemorative service was announced in a video on the university's Facebook page by Kelby Davis, assistant pastor of the Bridge.

"This is an opportunity for us to come together and change the narrative of what happened on August 31st, 2019,” Davis, whose young daughter at the time was injured, said in the video. “Let’s start our morning with hope, sunrise, coffee, and opportunities to give back and move forward as a community.”

Davis said the service will begin at 7 a.m. under the Mesa Deck on campus. A blood drive will be held afterward.