Strangers come for miles to mourn El Paso shooting victim

Thousands of strangers came to say goodbye to a woman who was killed in a mass shooting in El Paso after hearing her longtime companion had few family members left.

Antonio Basco had told reporters he felt alone in planning the funeral for Margie Reckard, one of 22 people killed when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart on Aug. 3. Basco had almost no family left, so he invited the world to join him in remembering his companion of 22 years.

He thought he might get a few well-wishers from El Paso.

Then, the flowers started coming in.

Then, the funeral home had to change venues.

Antonio Basco at the funeral of his long-time companion of Margie Reckard, 63, on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. [Photo: AP Photo/Russell Contreras]

THE VISITORS

People came from California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and across the border in Mexico. They stood in line for hours Friday for Reckard's funeral, then patiently waited Saturday in sweltering temperatures as Basco buried her.

Few of those in attendance had ever met Reckard, but almost all said the suffering city — and the nation — needed to see how to rally around those in pain.

Jordan Ballard, 38, of Los Angeles, said she lived in New York City during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and in Oklahoma City doing the 1995 bombing. After reading about Basco online, she bought a plane ticket Thursday.

"The potential of him experiencing this alone made me come," she said. "I know if I was lost, my family had each other."

Angelique Tadeo, 52, her husband, Paul, 69, and their 3-year-old granddaughter drove more than four hours from Tucson, Arizona. Tadeo worked as a nurse and treated victims during the 2011 shooting in Tucson that injured former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six.

"We know what the city is going through and we wanted to be here," Tadeo said.