At a candlelight vigil Monday evening, a permanent memorial facility to honor the Kalamazoo Shootings one year ago was announced.

The ForeverStrong Memorial Foundation presented plans for a complex that will pay tribute in unique ways to the six who were killed, and two who were grievously wounded. The facility will be on several acres of land in the Kalamazoo area, and feature a walk-through memorial pavilion, that begins with a half-a-barn entrance to symbolize the area’s agricultural history.

StudioIntrigueArch via YouTube
StudioIntrigueArch via YouTube
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Several concrete slabs, each bearing the name of a victim, will be in place, and these are symbolic as well; for example, the slab honoring Barbara Hawthorne blocks line of sight from the slab of Abbie Kopf, because Hawthorne gave her life to shield Abbie from gunfire.

StudioIntrigueArch via YouTube
StudioIntrigueArch via YouTube
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The complex will also feature a pond and three outdoor multi-use sport fields, as well as an indoor soccer field, the first of its kind in Southwest Michigan. One of the victims, 17-year-old Tyler Smith, was a standout soccer player.

Click below for a flythrough video of the plans for the memorial.

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