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Red Mill neighbors honor victim of Virginia Beach Municipal Center shooting

People who live in Red Mill Farms North planted a tree in memory of Mary Louise Gayle who died in the mass shooting in Virginia Beach in May 2019.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — People who live in Red Mill Farms North gathered Tuesday to remember Mary Louise Gayle, who died in the shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center in 2019.

"Mary Louise was a neighbor and friend to residents of Red Mill Farms North," said JoAnn Baxter.

Baxter explained that Gayle's family already had planted a tree in Gayle's memory but that tree died. For Baxter, other neighbors, and Gayle's relatives, it felt like they lost Gayle a second time.

Baxter said she got help from Councilman Michael Berlucci to get a new tree that would grow well and of which the city approved. She, along with others, planted the Trident Maple in the median of Red Mill Boulevard near Agecroft Road.

Gayle's sisters and nephew were among those who were there Tuesday, as was Father Robert Cole, Pastor of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church. Gayle was a member of the parish. Cole gave a eulogy and a blessing.

Credit: JoAnn Baxter
People plant a tree in Red Mill Farms on Nov. 10, 2020 in memory of Mary Louise Gayle, one of the people who died in the shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on May 31, 2019.

Besides Gayle, 11 other people were killed in the shooting:

  • LaQuita C. Brown
  • Ryan Keith Cox
  • Tara Welch Gallagher
  • Alexander Mikhail Gusev
  • Joshua O. Hardy
  • Michelle "Missy" Langer
  • Richard H. Nettleton
  • Katherine A. Lusich Nixon
  • Christopher Kelly Rapp
  • Herbert "Bert" Snelling
  • Robert "Bobby" Williams

Several other people were hurt in the shooting.

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