Parkland Shooting Victims Remembered At Local Events Focused On Healing, Supporting & Honoring

PARKLAND (CBSMiami) – The victims of the Parkland school shooting were remembered Sunday at several South Florida events, all focused on healing, supporting and honoring.

The city of Parkland hosted a community commemoration at the Pine Trails Park.

The event featured a ceremony to honor the victims, on-site therapy dogs and 17 display boards where the community could write messages.

A commemorative video played following the ceremony.

The city of Margate held a vigil at the Margate Sports Complex.

Lanterns were released in honor of the victims, following speeches from a guest speaker and city officials.

Over at Eagles' Haven Wellness Center in Coral Springs, people placed their hands over their hearts in silence to remember the victims. There was a candle lit for each one.

"All of us made a commitment that day, and every day going forward, that we would always remember not only what happened here, but every beautiful life that was lost. And we promise to honor them and we will continue to do so," said State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky.

The event's focus was healing, with attendees participating in activities such as meditation, rock painting, bracelet making and a drum circle. These were some of the hobbies of each of the 17 individuals.

"So, for example, Chris Hixon loved Peanut M&M's. We are painting butterflies on behalf of Alyssa [Alhadeff]. Jaime [Guttenberg] loved to dances, so we are going to dance. Little things we can do to support the family as well as doing things to remember those we lost that day," said Dr. Halle Solomon, assistant program director at Eagles' Haven.