A public prayer vigil is planned for Sunday night around the corner from where four people, including the gunman, were shot to death Wednesday in Oakland.
The candlelight vigil is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the boat landing off Messalonskee Lake, a short walk down the street from Wednesday night’s slayings at 41 Belgrade Road.
Amy Derosby
Amanda Bragg
Mike Mozerolle
Amy Derosby, 28, Amanda Bragg, 30, and Michael Muzerolle, 29, were shot to death by Herman Derico, 42, at the two-apartment house they all shared, police said. The victims were found in the first-floor apartment. Bragg and Muzzerole’s daughter, Arrianna, 3, was found unharmed in the apartment by the first police to arrive at the scene.
The vigil is being organized by local church and municipal leaders as a way of helping the community unite in the aftermath of the killings, said Jamie Dickson, pastor of Kingdom Life Church off High Street in Oakland.
Dickson, who described the shootings as “one of the most violent crimes in Oakland’s history,” said he and other organizers also want to draw attention to a Go Fund Me page set up in Arrianna’s name, “Help raise Arrianna.” The fundraising page says the orphaned girl will be raised by her grandmother and other relatives, who will need assistance.
“We’re going to be thoughtful and mindful of the family, and to unite the community,” Dickson said. “It’s a chance, an opportunity to remember not only the victims but to touch our hearts and embrace each other, to unite together as a community.”
Meanwhile, Maine State Police on Friday continued to investigate the shootings but said there were no case developments. There were no apparent signs of police activity at the house Friday morning.
“Work continues (on the investigation) and that work will continue next week as well,” Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Friday.
A separate vigil that previously had been planned for the same time Sunday night at Head of Falls in Waterville has now been canceled in favor of encouraging people instead to go to the gathering at the Oakland boat landing, said Jibryne Karter, who dated Bragg in high school and was helping to organize the gathering.
Candles will be provided at the Oakland vigil courtesy of Colby College in Waterville, Dickson said. The vigil has been organized in consultation with the victims’ families and with Oakland police, he said.
Police think Derico shot the three victims with a 9 mm handgun, then killed himself outside in the driveway. At a news conference Thursday, McCausland said investigators are trying to find out why Derico went on the rampage.
Autopsies had been scheduled on all four people, but the results were not immediately available Friday.
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