ANNAPOLIS, MD -- Dozens of mourners gathered at a Maryland church to grieve and pay tribute to five slain newspaper employees, including a member of the church's congregation.
The Rev. Fred Muir's voice cracked when he described the mounting dread he had felt as it became clear Wendi Winters didn't survive Thursday's shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis.
The 65-year-old Winters was a special publications editor and a mother of four. She had been a member of the congregation for 20 years.
Muir described her as a beloved "pillar of her community."
WUSA9 spoke to Winters' daughter, Winters Geimer, who was very soft spoken and said she was still processing things.
Her message was clear: we need to keep telling the important stories her mother loved and fought to tell. Many of those stories were about children.
People from out of state came to support those who lost their lives, including Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.
"I want people to keep telling the stories she told, telling community stories that were more than doom and gloom. The stories that still matter to people," said Geimer.
Some of those attending the vigil at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis on Friday gasped when the Rev. John Crestwell noted that Winters had participated in a training session at the church three weeks ago on how to respond to an active shooter. He said he wonders what must have been going through her mind during Thursday's shooting.
Crestwell said he was sure that Winters "did not cower in fear." He said she "died a hero and probably saved more lives."
