BUFFALO, N.Y. — As May 14 approaches, emotions are running high. On a day when community members should be celebrating their mothers, they instead are left with the scars of that day and the pain a gunman has caused.
"Feelings are at an all-time high. It's like the worst birthday ever," one resident said.
For some people, it's hard to believe tragedy struck Buffalo a year ago. Others feel it just happened.
"There's a lot of emotions. It's only a year after. It feels like it was just yesterday," Alia Williams said.
Now that it's been nearly one year since the mass shooting at Tops, the East Buffalo community is trying to move forward. They say dwelling on the past will make East Buffalo divided rather than united.
"This racist came in and wanted to divide us; that's what it wanted to do. But guess what it did? It made us stronger. It made us stronger, baby," Leonard Lane said.
Added Stella Brown: "I really don't know how to feel. It's too much to handle. It's a lot."
What makes matters worse for some residents is preparing for Mother's Day. It's Sunday, and it will make the weekend more emotional.
"It's hard. It's hard for a lot of women. It's really hard for mothers, fathers, whoever's kids, grandkids. They need their loved ones, and they're not here," Brown said.
As Mother's Day approaches, everyone plans to spend the Sunday differently. But as we remember those 10 lives lost, the community will do what it does best: take care of one another.