EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Twenty-three names. Each read solemnly as those in attendance were lost in their thoughts, thinking back to that fateful day seven years ago.

Sunday night, Aug. 2, El Paso County held its annual remembrance ceremony, marking the Aug. 3, 2019 Walmart shooting.

In a hate-filled rage, a gunman shot down and murdered 23 people at the Cielo Vista Walmart and wounded more than 20 others.


How El Paso plans to remember those lost on Aug. 3

Each year, El Paso gathers to remember what is the darkest day in its history, to remember the victims but also to honor the heroes. El Paso also remembers how neighbors and the community in general came together in resilience and love in the aftermath of this mass shooting.

County Judge Ricardo Samaniego says he looks back on being able to create the Healing Garden at Ascarate Park, a place where the community can come together to remember and heal from the trauma of that day.

“So I’m so glad that we’re able to have this kind of a special place because it was a very tragic situation,” Samaniego said. “But we’ve turned this day into a very special day. I mean, it’s a very, very special day for everyone.

“I get to meet the families and it’s unbelievable that you see the healing process because they’ll tell you a story or an incident that I hadn’t heard before,” Samaniego said.

Sunday night’s event included welcoming remarks from Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz and Pastor Michael Grady. White doves were released to mark the occasion.

The highlight each year is the solemn reading of the names of the 23 people who lost their lives that day.

Samaniego said that El Paso has been able to come together in its grief to create something special in the Healing Garden and in the way that residents remember the events of that day.

“If you’ve seen, we have the eternal flame. We have that beautiful mural behind us,” Samaniego said. “And I was so very proud that we all came together and decided to never forget that.

“Now, very few communities that have had these mass shootings have ever done something of this nature. We’re one of the very few,” Samaniego said.

Samaniego said that the Healing Garden at Ascarate Park is a special place.

“Everything is significant — the smell of the flowers,” Samaniego said. “You want to get all senses going. The water, the vision, obviously. And of course, just everybody contributed.

“Most of the plants here are from UTEP, and everything else just came together,” he added.