Gardner will host a vigil for the victim of a deadly act of domestic violence that occurred in the city last year.
“The time has come for our community to come together and begin the process of healing and begin a form of closure,” said Bernice Richard, president of Voices of Truth and coordinator of the Gardner Domestic Violence Task Force.
Breanne “Breezy” Pennington, 30, was shot to death on Oct. 22 in the bedroom of the Cherry Street home she shared with her husband, Aaron Pennington, who has been charged with her murder and remains the focus of a law enforcement manhunt. During the incident, the couple’s four children ran to a neighbor’s house and were taken into state custody.
The vigil, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Gardner City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 21, will be hosted by the Gardner Domestic Task Force and by Brenda Hull, Breanne’s aunt. She said she felt it important to represent her niece’s family at the event.
“This is a community that has been deeply affected by this, they have been shaken and rattled,” Hull said. “But I think from what I have seen, this a community that has so much love and so much concern, that I genuinely feel there are caring and good people in this community.”