Vigil for Community Healing
Wednesday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m., Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Cedar Rapids,
The City of Cedar Rapids will hold a Vigil for Community Healing on Wednesday evening at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The vigil is intended to pay respect to victims of violence, and show support for their families and friends.
“Community service organizations Foundation 2 and Waypoint will join the event to offer support and resources to those in need. Prayers and words of respect will be offered,” the city said in a news release on Tuesday afternoon. “Community members of any and all religious, spiritual and nonspiritual traditions; ethnicities, cultures and races; gender expression, LGBTQIA and gender-queer communities; and all levels of mental and physical ability are welcome and encouraged to attend.”
The vigil is being held in response to the shooting at the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge in downtown Cedar Rapids, just before 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Nicole Owens and Michael Valentine, both of whom were Cedar Rapids residents, were killed in the shooting. They were at the club for a birthday celebration for a mutual friend when the shooting happened. Ten other people were injured in the incident, including one man, Marvin Cox, who was shot in the head.
On Monday, Cedar Rapids police officers arrested Timothy Rush on charges of second-degree murder, willful injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, reckless use of a firearm and possession of a firearm as a felon. Rush had his first court appearance on Tuesday.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Rush, the club’s surveillance video shows him shooting Owens and Cox. It states Rush “appears to have fired intentionally and indiscriminately… into a large crowd of people after an initial shooting took place resulting in shooting both Owens and Cox and possibly several others.”
The Gazette reported that Rush knew Owens, and the two are parents of a child born last year. Paperwork filed by Rush states that he is unemployed, but listed Taboo as a previous employer.
Rush is being held in the Linn County Jail. Bail for the second-degree murder charge has been set at $1.5 million.
Rush was not charged with shooting Valentine. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Police Chief Wayne Jerman said investigators believed there were two shooters involved in the incident.
“Sadly, it’s often a tragedy like last weekend that helps us realize we can’t walk through this world alone,” Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said in the city’s statement about the vigil. “It can be helpful to be around others who are processing similar emotions of shock, grief and — for some — generational trauma. Our community is stronger when we come together.”
The Vigil for Community Healing on Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum (50 2nd Avenue Bridge) is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
