El Paso is rallying to attend the funeral of a mass shooting victim after her husband put out a public invitation
His city had his back.
Perches Funeral Home in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday posted on its Facebook page that Antonio Basco, who lost his wife of 22 years, Margie Reckard, in a mass shooting in El Paso, was welcoming anyone to attend her funeral. Basco reportedly had no other family and asked the funeral home to invite the public to attend Reckard's visitation and prayer service.
People predicted that the folks from the Lone Star state would show up for Basco.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That they did. And then some.
The New York Times reports that less than 24 hours after it posted the initial invitation, the funeral home said it might need to move the service to a larger venue. Meanwhile, more than 50 people ordered flower arrangements, and one couple reportedly made plans to fly in from California. Harrison Johnson, a funeral director at Perches, said Basco was stunned by the overwhelming response.
Reckard was one of 22 people killed when alleged gunman Patrick Crusius opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso earlier this month. Read more at The New York Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Police ID driver of exploded Cybertruck, can't see motive
Speed Read An Army Green Beret detonated a homemade bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Teenage girl kills 2 in Wisconsin school shooting
Speed Read 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow fatally shot a teacher and student at Abundant Life Christian School
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Penny acquitted in NYC subway choking death
Speed Read Daniel Penny was found not guilty of homicide in the 2023 choking death of Jordan Neely
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Suspect in CEO shooting caught, charged with murder
Speed Read Police believe 26-year-old Luigi Mangione killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
UnitedHealthcare CEO killed in 'brazen, targeted' hit
Speed Read Police are conducting a massive search for Brian Thompson's shooter
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published