South Mall was crowded with UT community members and candles Tuesday night, where Students Demand Action organized a community vigil to honor victims of the West Sixth Street shooting. Around 200 people were in attendance.
Students Demand Action member Shubhi Dhamija read statements from family and friends of three victims, including UT senior Savitha Shanmugasundaram, Texas Tech student Ryder Harrington and Jorge Pederson, who passed away in the hospital. Thirteen others, including UT students, were injured in the early Sunday morning shooting.
Some students cried or held onto each other throughout the statements. Attendees then came together for a moment of silence to honor victims and survivors of the shooting. There was a small memorial on the lawn with t-shirts and candles, and attendees placed flowers around it.
Afterward, computer science senior Priyanka Sadagopan spoke about action and legislation to prevent future violence.
“It’s not freedom to fear for your life at a bar, a grocery store, a mall or a school,” Sadagopan, a Students Demand Action member, said at the vigil. “We don’t need thoughts and prayers from leaders who have had every opportunity to step up and pass the common-sense laws that can actually prevent tragedies from happening.”
Students were invited to pray or sit on the lawn near the memorial, and many sat in silence after the event. After the event ended, the organizers moved the memorial to Buford’s bar on Sixth Street, where the shooting occurred.
Students Demand Action is an organization that focuses on ending gun violence around the country. The UT chapter has mental health resources and fundraiser information for victims on their Linktree.
“We are here to support them no matter where they are in their grief process, and if they want to turn their anger into action, we’re here for that,” said Students Demand Action member Hayden Presley. “But also, if they just need support or someone to talk to, we are also here for that, and we can connect them with resources and stuff that will help them in their healing.”
Student Government will host a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. at Main Mall on Wednesday.
