Odessa residents gathered last week to remember the mass shooting that rocked the local community five years ago.

On Aug. 31, 2019, a gunman drove through a West Texas town in a seemingly random shooting spree, killing seven people and wounding 25 others. The incident lasted about an hour before police killed the shooter.

In the years since the shooting, community members and local leaders have come together to commemorate the day. This year, Odessa residents marked the anniversary with the unveiling of a new monument that local leaders hope will help the city heal.

During a sunset service last Thursday, dozens of people gathered for their first look at the Bright Star Memorial. A rainbow loomed over the crowd as they listened to speakers reflect on the mass shooting and the work that went into creating the 11-foot bronze cylinder inscribed with the names of the victims.

“This is the most important piece of public art I’ve ever created in my life,” said Randy Ham, executive director of Odessa Arts. “And it’s the piece I never wanted to create.”

The cylinder sits quietly atop a hill surrounded by blocks of stone on land belonging to the University of Texas Permian Basin. A path leading to the monument can be accessed through a nearby park that will soon be covered with native grasses and wildflowers.

The Bright Star Memorial will be open 24 hours a day so residents have a place to go whenever they need a quiet place to deal with their trauma.

“The purpose of this memorial is to give back to the community … their agency to grieve and heal themselves,” said Ham, who played a key role in completing the sculpture. “It’s a personal journey for many of us.”

During this year’s memorial, a large procession marched to view the Bright Star Monument, many dressed in yellow, a color symbolizing Odessa’s resilience after the shooting.

Mitch Borden

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Marfa Public Radio

The approach to the sculpture is intended to give visitors time to mentally and emotionally prepare themselves to see the artwork. The Bright Star Memorial was created by artist Jim Sanborn, who decided to create more than just a list of names.

“I wanted it to be more personal, so I collected statements from family members of the deceased and from the survivors themselves,” he said.

This work of art comes alive at night when the cylinder is illuminated by a single lamp that projects the names of the victims and accompanying words onto the square around the sculpture.

It’s a shocking sight, and one that left Renee Earls stunned when she first saw a photo of the completed sculpture.

“In the dark of night, when those lights are shining and the letters of all those words are reflected on the pavement, it’s just (a symbol of) beauty,” she said.

Earls, president of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, initiated communication with families of those killed and survivors of the shooting about what they would like to see on the memorial. She said submissions included descriptions of their loved ones, passages of Scripture and first-hand accounts of what happened.

These memories make the monument even more impressive to Earls because it “represents a lot of emotions, a lot of thoughts and a lot of lives.”

After the unveiling of the Bright Star Monument, people walked around it in silence and looked up at it as it shone.

“I’m glad we’re turning to art for solace,” Ham said as he left the event.

He was relieved that so many people came to see the sculpture because he was unsure how many people would want to honor the memory of the shooting.

“I just didn’t know,” Ham said. “It could have been retraumatizing and people might not have wanted to be here, and the fact that they did, hopefully, signals that we’re healing.”

The unveiling is expected to be the last formal ceremony to commemorate the mass shooting in Odessa, according to the memorial’s organizers. Now, the Bright Star Memorial will stand for years to come as a place where residents can sit with their feelings and heal at their own pace.