A heartbroken community came together to grieve by holding a candlelight vigil.

“It hurts,” Kevin Howard, who attended the vigil, said. “There’s a lot of trauma within our small communities and something like this kind of brings it to the forefront.” 

An entire town now dealing with heartbreak after an act of violence took a Clearfield County woman and her mother away from their family.

22-year-old Victoria Schultz and 47-year-old Beth Schultz were shot and killed in what police are calling an act of domestic violence. The third victim, 25-year-old Jessica Schultz, was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.

“It’s just a shock it happened here,” Ida Reams, Mayor of Osceola Mills, said. “Usually you read about it in a small community. This time it was our community.” 

Candles were lit and raised high for the Schultz family during this critical time. 

Life-long residents of Osceola Mills and staples of the community, Victoria and Beth’s flames going out before they had the chance to burn bright.

“It’s evil,” Mayor Reams said. “There’s no other word for it. It’s evil. I’m so glad that there are good people. There’s enough good to overcome that.” 

Crowds gathered to honor and remember lives taken too soon, but also wrote notes of hope for Jessica, now recovering.

Purple balloons were also handed out. They were then released to the skies, a symbol of ending domestic violence.

“I think the community needs to get together and help each other,” Dolores Bruss, the victim’s aunt, said. “All the neighbors should help each other. If they see anything going wrong they need to report problems.”

Although it’s a pain that may never fully go away, the vigil was a way to bring light to this dark time.

“Grieving is part of the process,” Howard said. “Grieving is part of the healing.”

Anyone who couldn’t make it Monday night was encouraged to light a candle at home.