Hundreds gather at community vigil for mother and children killed in Co Fermanagh shooting
Hundreds of people have gathered at a community vigil to pay their respects to a woman and her two teenage children who died following a shooting in Co Fermanagh.
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People embraced each other as they remembered Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from Co Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13.
The vigil was organised by a community group and held at the primary school, Maguiresbridge Primary School, where James and Sara previously attended.
A book of condolence, set up next to a framed photo of the family and surrounded by white flowers and candles, was also opened at the school.
Honor Irvine, principal of Maguiresbridge Primary School, spoke fondly about James and Sara.
“I’m a teaching principal so I taught them both for two years,” she told the PA news agency.
“James was full of fun, always laughing, loved to get a laugh, loved to be outdoors.
“Sara was the same. Sara loved outdoors, bit of a tomboy, and the two of them got on very well, (had) lots of friends and were very popular in school.”
She described their mother Vanessa, who was a member of the parents’ support group which organised fundraisers for the school, as “full of life”.
She said the vigil, facilitated by the school, offered a place for the community to grieve together.
The vigil was organised by the Village Rural Development Association to give people an opportunity to “come together and support each other at this difficult time”.
“This is an opportunity for our village to stand together in the face of such grief,” it said in a statement on social media.
Teddy bears, flowers and an Arsenal football top with written notes have been laid close to scene of the incident in Drummeer Road.
A fourth person, a man who was a member of the same household, remains in a serious condition in hospital in Belfast following the incident on Wednesday.
A murder investigation has been launched and police said a triple murder and attempted suicide is one line of inquiry being pursued.