[ad_1]
Kevin Sobnoski’s father, Damian, hugs a mourner as he arrives to pay his respects at the end of a candlelight vigil at St. Rose Catholic Church in Girard for Kevin Sobnoski, who was killed in a shooting Sunday morning in Columbus. A group of friends, family and parishioners attended the vigil for the Girard High School valedictorian class of 2019. Staff photo / Chris McBride
GIRARD — A calm mood overcame St. Rose Catholic Church Thursday evening; The only light came from several dozen candles lit by those attending a prayer service for Kevin Sobnoski.
Sobnoski was killed in a shooting in Columbus last weekend.
Several rows of pews were filled as people filtered in to hug his parents, Damien and Laura Jo Sobnoski. Silence fell over the room as everyone waited for the service to begin.
Sobnoski’s pastor, Rev. The vigil, led by Jordan Kelly, brought many to tears with words of comfort and occasional echoes of laughter as he recalled memories shared with him about the 21-year-old.
“When I look at this congregation, I see a host of young people,” Kelly said. “It’s this kind of unity, this kind of unity that shaped Kevin’s life, and now we have an opportunity to embrace it in a deeper way.”
Sobnoski was shot in the head early Sunday morning while eating with three friends at a nearby gas station in Columbus. He was taken to the nearby Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where he was put on life support, but eventually succumbed to his injuries at 4:17 p.m.
Devin Milentijevic, Kevin’s best friend since they met in fifth grade, was in Columbus the morning of the shooting and rushed the injured man to the hospital. In the days that followed, Milentijevic said he was still struggling to process what happened on a night he should have celebrated over Halloween weekend.
“I think about him every second and I think there’s no way this could happen out of all people,” he said. “Kevin was the most honest person to himself of anyone around – he wanted to be successful in everything he did.”
The vigil featured eulogies from two of Sobnoski’s former instructors at St. Rose Elementary School — his fourth-grade teacher Dorothy McCoss and fifth-grade teacher Catherine DeRubba.
Makos remembered Sobnoski as a student who always did what he had to do and was always ready.
“I was teaching English one day and he kept cracking up. We took a break and he drank some water – the hiccups started again. I looked at him and said, ‘Kevin, do you know there’s an F in English?’ “He gasped and the cracks went away,” Makos said.
Dirubba described his former student as a leader, a great leader who was empathetic and always looked out for other students.
“He organized in the camp, in his classroom, he is now organizing in heaven,” Dirubba said.
The two-hour service ended with people gathered in a line toward the altar, all lighting candles in Sobnoski’s honor. There were so many candles placed around a monument that it almost caught fire.
It was a moment when Milentijevic couldn’t stop laughing. He said he knew Sobnoski was by his side; Milentijevic said he would have done the same.
Sobnoski would have celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday. A 2019 graduate of Girard High School, Sobnoski is pursuing a degree in computer science at Youngstown State University and will graduate next spring.
Meanwhile, Columbus police are looking for 12 people of interest in the shooting and have released photos to the media. Police said 12 people were either participants in the shooting or witnesses.
The shooting happened around 3:50 a.m. near the Sheets gas station in the 1400 block of North Cassady Avenue. Shots were fired from Sheets’ parking lot and hit the vehicle.
Sobnoski was one of four people in the car, but only one was shot.
Police said no arrests have been made so far.
cmcbride@tribtoday.com
[ad_2]
Source link
