LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville artists used their skill to paint a message of love across the temporary wooden window covers at the Old National Bank on Main Street.
On April 10, a gunman killed five people who were sitting in a board room meeting at the bank.
Clean up crews placed wooden covers over the windows that were destroyed during the mass shooting and then during a shootout with police.
The community started to bring flowers, cards, and hand written notes on Tuesday to fill up the steps outside the bank as a makeshift memorial for the people who lost their lives.
Day-by-day that memorial continued to grow.
Kristine Thompson came to view that memorial on Thursday night. Thompson is a mental health counselor from Seattle who came to Louisville on Tuesday for a business trip.
She said she wanted to make a point of coming to pay her respects.
"I sit at home, and I see stuff happen in the world and in country and I think we need more empathy. We just need more empathy for people,” Thompson said.
She arrived at the memorial as a team of artists were working on painting a giant heart and the word ‘Love’ in big, bold, yellow, blue, and white letters across the wooden pallets in the window.
"I knew there would be flowers, but to see people up late working on creating messages for the community of hope and love is heartwarming,” Thompson said.
She commended the city and the people who took the call of Mayor Craig Greenberg to heart and are helping support and lift up a community in mourning.
"I just think it's a collection of people coming together to honor others and support each other, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Thompson said.
She plans to fly back to Seattle over the weekend and show pictures to her friends to create a larger community of people who care for each other.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.