The corner of Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street on Buffalo's East Side is suddenly the center of world attention.
On Tuesday, there was a fleet of broadcast satellite and equipment vans on one corner. Across the street was the Tops supermarket that was the site of Saturday's deadly mass shooting, still surrounded by yellow police tape. On another corner, there was a large food giveaway, helping people find food as the Tops is closed.
Tuesday evening, there was also a vigil — music and prayer remembering the 10 who died Saturday.
Heyward Patterson was one of the 10 who died. His name was among those whose names were read aloud and whose faces were shown in vigil posters. It was church on a street corner, with a mix of music familiar from Sunday services and uplifting songs for those enduring the pain of mass murder in the neighborhood.
A church deacon, Patterson was there Saturday, providing rides for food shoppers to homes in the surrounding community, when he was gunned down, allegedly by an 18-year-old with an automatic weapon and body armor.
"There's a healing that's going on right now because of the tragic incident that has happened and the loss of life which is great, and also those who have been injured and affected by this shooting," said NAACP local President Pastor Mark Blue. "We realize that we are a stronger community, we're stronger together. And this is just one of the steps, of the many steps, that's going to ensue as we do the healing process for our community."
"What I'm seeing, honestly, is PTSD. What I'm seeing is survivor's guilt. What I'm seeing is people coming together," said Feed Buffalo founder Drea D'nur. "I'm feeling anger. I'm feeling pain. I'm feeling a lot of things from our people. I am seeing people coming together. I am seeing a lot of people wanting to be helped. I am also seeing a little bit of saviorism."
Golden Cup coffee shop President Larry Stitts said it's his family's neighborhood and they are helping make it better.
"As a family, we could have moved and went to the suburbs. We could have done a lot of things like that, but this is our community and we are making an investment in this community because this community is where we are raising our kids and we got to be an example for them, to show them that they can make it, too," Stitts said.
Other community leaders were there to say Jefferson Avenue has come back — and will come back a lot more, with help for economic development and investment in the schools to provide the education neighborhood kids need.
