El Paso is rallying to attend the funeral of a mass shooting victim after her husband put out a public invitation
His city had his back.
Perches Funeral Home in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday posted on its Facebook page that Antonio Basco, who lost his wife of 22 years, Margie Reckard, in a mass shooting in El Paso, was welcoming anyone to attend her funeral. Basco reportedly had no other family and asked the funeral home to invite the public to attend Reckard's visitation and prayer service.
People predicted that the folks from the Lone Star state would show up for Basco.
This is devastating. I have no doubt that Texans will respond. https://t.co/icVrGshlAQ
— David French (@DavidAFrench) August 14, 2019
That they did. And then some.
The New York Times reports that less than 24 hours after it posted the initial invitation, the funeral home said it might need to move the service to a larger venue. Meanwhile, more than 50 people ordered flower arrangements, and one couple reportedly made plans to fly in from California. Harrison Johnson, a funeral director at Perches, said Basco was stunned by the overwhelming response.
Reckard was one of 22 people killed when alleged gunman Patrick Crusius opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso earlier this month. Read more at The New York Times.