Lower Manhattan Chapel Commemorates Aurora, Colorado Victims
St. Paul's Chapel rang their Bell of Hope in solidarity with the victims and family members of the recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado.
The “Bell of Hope” rang Thursday outside a Lower Manhattan chapel to commemorate the victims of the Aurora, Colorado shooting.
In a traditional firefighters salute to fallen comrades, Rev. James H. Cooper rang the bell 20 times in sets of five rings.
The bell was a gift to New York City from London after the September 11th terrorist attacks. It sits in St. Paul’s graveyard across the street from the World Trade Center.
The bell is only rung to commemorate grave tragedies such as 9/11, the bombings in London, Moscow and Mumbai, and the Virginia Tech shooting.
Long-time Brooklyn resident Stanley Karol was at the site to hear the bell ring.
“It’s a nice gesture, it is. It reminded me of the World Trade Center because I use to work over there, and when I heard about it on the radio I wanted to be there for it,” said Karol.
The graveyard was also filled with tourists passing by to see the historic chapel.
Toronto resident Rose Hercia missed the bell, but said she could understand the significance of the tragedy as their city had a recent shooting in a major mall.
“So many people are affected by it, that I am sure that those people and the people that aren’t affected by it, like us, appreciate coming somewhere where they honor the people that have been killed and the families that are suffering,” said Hercia.
Twelve people died in the Colorado shooting while dozens more were injured.
