ATLANTA — A vigil was held Tuesday evening at a DeKalb County grocery store where a deadly shooting took place nearly one year ago. During the shooting in June of 2021 at Big Bear Foods, a cashier was killed and two other victims were shot.
The vigil was held to show support for Buffalo following the shooting where 10 people were killed at a grocery there over the weekend. Shoppers at Big Bear said details of the shooting in Buffalo shocked them, but they weren't surprised as they viewed it as yet another act of violence against the Black community.
Both grocery stores are in what would otherwise be considered food deserts and primarily serve Black and low-income customers.
"It is sad that we are still living in a world today that hates others," said Wanda Watkins while shopping at Big Bear Tuesday.
Watkins was one of the shoppers 11Alive spoke to ahead of the vigil. Watkins said the shooting this past weekend in Buffalo led to her questioning how someone could shoot and kill innocent people inside a grocery store, a store similar to where she shops for groceries in DeKalb County.
"Really it is the only grocery store within two to three miles up. It is a lot because this store is really important to our community because a lot of stores moving out," Watkins said.
Other Big Bear shoppers see their neighborhood reflected in the victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo.
"This store right here you have a lot of elderly here that shop here. So nine times out of 10, like you said, that is their only source for food. When you're taking that away from us, it is just a sad situation," said Keisha Hall.
Holding a vigil outside Big Bear made sense for several reasons, according to Georgia NAACP President and Attorney Gerald Griggs.
"Not only to show the community that we stand with them but to show investors that you need to reinvest in these communities," Griggs said. "There is no reason for there to be one grocery store within a 5-mile radius in a highly-populated area such as South DeKalb County. So we want to highlight all those issues, but pull the community together."
As with past mass shootings, the shooting in Buffalo is leading to a national conversation about violence, and because the FBI is investigating it as a hate crime, it is also leading to conversations about race in America.
"It ain't nothing new to us, it isn't necessarily shocking to us," Hall said about the shooting being investigated as violence specifically against the Black community.
While she isn't surprised, it sadly gives her yet another reason to worry for her young children, including her daughter who went into Big Bear with her to shop Tuesday.
"I have a fear for my kids just going to school every day. I get up, pray over them and keep going," Hall said.