KERRVILLE, Texas — The Kerrville community came together to mourn Friday evening, and to support a family remembering Melissa Perez Villagrana after she was shot and killed at a Walmart parking lot by a coworker earlier this week.
"It's just hard to beleve she's gone," said Lorie Spurny, a coworker of Villagrana who was at an evening vigil.
She was a mother of three with a heart of gold who had love for her loved ones.
"It's been hard to go to work and be at work all week," Spurny said. "You just look around or you think you hear someone or see a smile and you think it's her. You're just waiting for her to come around the corner."
Villagrana, 38, was shot by Fernando Rolon on Monday. Afterwards, authorities say, he ran into the Rio 10 Theater where he also worked, and sparked a 16-hour standoff with police. Officials say he later turned the gun on himself.
The theater remains temporarily closed after the incident. Police said they used tear gas during the standoff, which may have damaged the building; it remains blocked off and closed until further noticed.
The horrific scene shocked the Kerrville community—the place Villagrana called home for seven years.
"We have the choice right now to look through bitterness, look through anger, through a really, really dark place that she would not want us to," said Santanna Lozano, Villagrana's cousin.
Instead, stories of Villagrana's kindness were shared. Turns out compassion was something she frequently shared with those who crossed her path.
"I'm sure it will be something like, 'Just tell them that I loved them, get their kids something for Christmas, do something (that respresents) what I loved for and how I actually was,'" Lozano said.
"We love her, and we're going to miss her," Spurny added.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for funeral expenses, as well as to help Villagrana's three children. You can find it here.
OTHER POPULAR STORIES ON KENS5.COM: