This year, community members couldn’t gather in person on May 23 to mourn those who lost their lives six years ago in the 2014 Isla Vista Tragedy. Instead, community leaders encouraged people to stop by the Love and Remembrance Garden in Isla Vista, where there are benches dedicated to each of the six people who lost their lives that day. Every year on May 23, the garden is normally filled with an outpour of community members, but this year, due to physical distancing requirements, mourners came and left in small groups or by themselves to pay their respects.
Pictures of those who lost their lives in the tragedy — George Chen, Katherine Breann Cooper, Cheng Yuan “James” Hong, Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, Weihan “David” Wang and Veronika Elizabeth Weiss — rested on each of the benches, accompanied by flowers and blue lights placed by people who stopped by throughout the day.
