VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — A vigil for one of the victims of a shooting at a Vancouver school started at 5 p.m. Sunday night. Friends and family gathered at Esther Short Park with candles after the sun set. Speakers stood at the gazebo and remembered the young mother who was killed 6 days earlier.
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, two women were shot in a car while they sat in the parking lot of Anderson Elementary. One of them had a restraining order against the shooter and had feared for her life. They were both rushed to the hospital, but one victim did not survive. That victim’s sister confirmed her identity as Tiffany Hill. She was a Marine Corps Sergeant.
Hill was in the car with her mother at the time. There were also 3 children in the van when the shooting unfolded. They were physically unharmed, according to authorities.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said students had already been released and most of them had left the scene before the shooting happened at about 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. The gunman, Tiffany’s estranged husband Keland Hill, fled. The police chase ended when he turned the gun on himself.
In the following days, the local community gathered in mourning. Hill’s sister told KOIN 6 News that it was organized by friends.
Hill’s mother, who had also been shot, spoke at the vigil—her arm bandaged in a sling. She asked not to be fully identified. When addressing the crowd, Hill’s mother said to help one another and “give to your neighbor.”
“With all these things happening to the women and children, that is not fair,” she said. “Give them support and love and help them.”
Hill’s mother told those gathered at the vigil that her strength came from the Lord, saying, “Only He is holding me together. She was my daughter—my good, good baby.” She also asked that the community support all of the family members impacted by the tragedy.
Friends of Hill said that service was important to her.
“She was very humble about it,” said Heather Vian who knew Hill. “She was a wonderful person. She was always there for everybody—she listened to you and encouraged you and she was a really strong person.”
Vian told KOIN 6 News that she and Hill met when their children were in a Grow and Learn program together.
“She was always talking about her kids,” said Vian. “And always trying to do what was best for her kids.”
One speaker at the vigil said that to know Hill was “to know determination and sacrifice.” Another speaker remembered her as a giving neighbor and talented baker who shared her creations with her community.
Her father, Jesus Ojeda, said despite his daughter’s death, he doesn’t have hate in his heart for her estranged husband, Keland. At one time, Ojeda said he acted like a son to him, saying that it makes this tragedy all the more shocking.
Hill had 6 siblings. One of her sisters, who didn’t want to be identified, told the crowd at the vigil that Hill was the godmother to her youngest child. Hill herself was the mother of 3.
KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this story.