BEREA, Ky. (LEX 18) — Nearly a week after a deadly shooting at a U.S. Bank building on Chestnut Street, the community is still grappling with the loss of two lives.
Dozens of flowers line the front steps of the building: a solemn tribute to the two people killed last Thursday.
"We're not Mayberry, we're far from it, but we're a town that doesn't have a lot of crime," Keith Taylor said.
A local newspaper journalist who has covered the community for more than 30 years said the violence has left residents in shock.
"Everywhere you go people are just in disbelief about what happened. Basically with it being a robbery and two murders, the community is kind of like, visibly shaken," Taylor said.
Taylor described a moment at the scene that has stayed with him: comforting a man who had just learned his wife was one of the victims.
"This young man pulled up in a vehicle and he was really paranoid and just kind of visibly shaken. He talked to a cop for a little bit and then he went back to where the crime scene was. And I grabbed him and hugged him and said, 'Are you okay?' he said, 'No, I'm not. I can't get a hold of my wife, I can't find her. My mother in law tried to call, she couldn't get in touch with her,'" Taylor said.
The memory has not left him.
"I pray for that young man every day. I can't get that out of my head. I can't get that visual image of his reaction about him being told about his wife," Taylor said.
Despite the grief, Taylor said the community has come together in the aftermath.
"That's the thing about Kentucky. We all come together and we bond when we need each other. That's the special thing about being in Kentucky and from Kentucky," Taylor said.
He said the tragedy, while painful, will ultimately strengthen the community.
"We're strong, and things like this will make us stronger, not only as a community but as a state," Taylor said.
A Meal Train fundraiser has been started for the family of one of the survivors of the shooting. If you'd like to help out, click here.
