After an emotional week in Willmar in which two young Somali-American boys drowned, residents felt that they needed to show support for their grieving neighbors, the West Central Tribune reports in Willmar turns out Saturday to show support after death of two boys:
Willmar community members gathered Saturday in a walk to show solidarity with the city's Muslim community after the accidental death of two young boys.
Volunteers organized a walk Saturday from Bethel Lutheran Church downtown out to the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds and Foot Lake where the boys drowned Tuesday.
The event was organized by Jared Wosmek of Willmar. [Bluestem note: he's a member of the Willmar Police Department, though the walk seems to be an individual initiative; whatever the case, his idea has served the town well].
Wosmek said in an email Friday that the idea grew out of the emotional response this week to the deaths of Ahmed Hashi, 11, and Idris Hussein, 10. The boys were reported missing late Tuesday evening and were discovered four hours later in Foot Lake. They had last been seen on the dock near the entrance to the fairgrounds.
Wosmek said he had heard from many people looking for ways to show support for the boys’ families, friends and neighbors.
Dozens of people made the walk Saturday, and many community members posted photos of the walk and messages of support on Facebook.
Tribune education reporter Linda Vanderwerf tweeted:
The walkers gathering in support of our grieving #Somali community. #WillmarLove @wctrib pic.twitter.com/WQpliDTwXH
— Linda Vanderwerf (@lindavanderwerf) July 2, 2016
More walkers for #WillmarLove. Wish my allergy-rattled head/lungs would let me join in. :( pic.twitter.com/sr8x4E2CuE
— Linda Vanderwerf (@lindavanderwerf) July 2, 2016
Doug Wilkowske posted on Facebook:
Jason Dougherty posted:
To see a panoramic view of the walk, go to Dougherty's Facebook post.
Former state representative Mary Sawatzky posted an album:
Jennifer Lindquist noted the police escort:
The Tribune had earlier reported in Debriefing lets searchers gather to discuss boys' drownings that first responders were empathetic with the parents of the boys:
“After everything is done, it can be a heavy load for officers and a lot of emergency responders to bear,” Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt said. “Any incident that involves a death is bad. Any incident that involves a kid’s death seems just compounded.”
Felt has a 10-year-old daughter, the same age as one of the boys who drowned. Felt was at the hospital after the boys were discovered, and said Tuesday hit him hard.
Others on staff can relate.
“We’ve got an officer that’s got an 11-year-old son,” Felt said. “I think with the death of especially two children here, there’s so many parents and people in the community that realize what an impact that is. Any small differences melt away.”
Photo: Flowers and mementos on the dock near the site of the tragedy. Via Facebook.
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