Candlelight Vigil For Family Devastated By Fire

Neighbors huddle on the front lawn with candles in the dark. They bow their heads in prayer and thought. This is what it looks like when a community comes together--to help a family that's lost so much.

“We can't even imagine how it feels to lose a baby and this feels like the only thing we can do,” says neighbor Helen Landry. Neighbors held a candlelight vigil to pray for the family of Ben and Jennifer Gunn. A Thursday morning fire destroyed their home neighbors say two children were inside along with their grandmother. They say five month old Madden Graham Gunn died from his injuries--one of them put a picture at the center of a memorial outside the house.

“This is just a terrible reason to stand in front of a camera and I hope no one has to stand in front of a camera for this reason ever,” says neighbor Nova Cross. Organizers of the Saturday night vigil say they did this because their neighborhood in Ocean Springs is very special.

“It's just so unique and so sincere, they really care about each other,” says Cross. Others echoed that sentiment saying families here are connected.

“We may not talk to each other everyday but we care about all the families on the street,” says Helen Landry. Dozens of people crowded the lawn outside the Gunn home to hear words of hope.

“Just because God doesn't prevent pain doesn't mean He's not there, he's not the God that prevents it he's the God that redeems it,” says Pastor Dustin Boles. Neighbors have also set up a fund for the family at Keesler Federal Credit Union. A fundraiser will also be held at Mosaic Church in Ocean Springs.