Ceremonies For First Anniversary Of Deadly Mass Shooting At El Paso Walmart Reshaped By Coronavirus

EL PASO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Twenty-three pillars of light shot into a cloudy El Paso sky to commemorate the lives lost during a shooting that targeted Mexicans at a Walmart one year ago — a memorial visible from both sides of the US-Mexico border.

Twenty three lights shine skyward as people in vehicles attend a drive-through luminaria remembrance honoring the one year anniversary of the Walmart shooting which left 23 people dead in a racist attack targeting Latinos on August 2, 2020 in El Paso, Texas. August 3rd marks the first anniversary of the deadliest attack against Hispanics in modern U.S. history. A number of memorial events are planned amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Texas city which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The white beams stood out against the orange glow of the border lights Sunday night as people lit paper lanterns and played music in a park in a ceremony marking a year since the attack.

There was a service for the families of the victims, but the gathering was closed to the public.

Events to commemorate the shooting in El Paso, and another hours later that killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, have been reshaped by the coronavirus.

The pandemic has added peril to the kind of gatherings that would have otherwise marked the grim anniversary, but did not stop the largely Hispanic city of 700,000 from showing unity.

People hold 23 crosses in front of a Walmart honoring those killed in the Walmart shooting which left 23 people dead in a racist attack targeting Latinos on August 3, 2020 in El Paso, Texas. Today marks the first anniversary of the deadliest attack against Hispanics in modern U.S. history. A number of memorial events are planned amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Texas city which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

On Monday, the Walmart where the shooting took place delayed opening until noon.

Residents and store employees wearing masks laid flowers and lit candles at a monument.

After sundown, a star of lights is set flash once for each of the victims on the mountains that overlook the city.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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