Union City community healing ceremony scheduled in wake of deadly shooting
People came to pay respects in front of a makeshift memorial of flowers and prayer candles, for two boys killed in Union City. Nov. 24, 2019
UNION CITY, Calif. - A healing ceremony will be held Sunday in honor of two boys fatally shot Nov. 23 in the parking lot of a Union City elementary school, organizers said.
Service organizations Youth and Family Services and the Union City Family Center are collaborating on the event set for 1 p.m. Sunday at the memorial site at Searles Elementary School 33629 15th St.
The community is invited to attend "and generate healing energy in preparation for students returning back to school tomorrow," YFS said in an announcement.
Ollin Anahuac, a locally based traditional Aztec dance group, will offer a prayer for the community and its children at the ceremony.
Two youths, ages 11 and 14, were shot as they sat in a van in the school parking lot about 1:30 a.m. The older boy was pronounced dead at the scene and the younger boy died en route to a hospital.
Organizers of the healing ceremony say the families of the boys "thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support shown throughout the last several days," but request that items that have been placed at the memorial site in their honor be removed at the conclusion of the gathering.
Searles and other campuses in the New Haven Unified School District Superintendent resume classes Monday after being closed for Thanksgiving break.