Kathy Whitmore works at a local laundromat a few blocks from New Hampshire Hospital. She has put up a wall with lost socks from people in her community. It is a symbol of her appreciation to the people who she sees every week. She fears the small, mellow town she calls home changed last week.
New Hampshire Hospital, the state psychiatric facility where a gunman fatally shot a security guard Friday afternoon, is located on a sprawling campus of government buildings in the heart of the capital city.
It’s also on bordered by a densely populated residential neighborhood where, over the weekend, many were processing the tragedy that just unfolded in their backyard.
NHPR’s Gaby Lozada caught up with folks in the area on Sunday. Click "Listen" on the player above to hear their reflections.
A sign at the entrance of an organization that serves children right in front of New Hampshire Hospital. Jason Armstrong, who works at a church nearby, says his employer had a security assessment just this past week. "Our prayers are definitely with the victims and the family members and all those who work at the hospital," he said. "We're very grateful for their ministry to our community."
Gaby Lozada
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NHPR
Sarah Stewart lives less than a mile from the hospital. She says her mind was racing when she saw emergency vehicles and other first responders rushing through the area on Friday. She says she uses her car to express her political views, and the one about banning assault weapons is her favorite.
Gabriela Lozada is a Report for America corps member. Her focus is on Latinx community with original reporting done in Spanish for ¿Qué hay de Nuevo NH?.
Plus, two more members of the Vermont farmworker community arrested last month have now been released on bail, while four people have been deported and three remain in detention.
The banquet, called Wlipogwat, offered a taste of animals and plants harvested on Abenaki territory. It's part of ongoing efforts by Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations to protect their knowledge, culture and homelands.
A mural depicting baked goods found itself at the center of a federal lawsuit, pitting a small town bakery against a local bureaucracy with strict sign rules.
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