Thousands gather to pay respect to synagogue victims

SARASOTA (FOX 13) - Several thousand people gathered in Sarasota to mourn last weekend's shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 people. 

Leaders from many faiths joined together to share their message of unity among all religions. 

They crowd lit candles for the victims and recited the Mourner's Kaddish. The event happened under heavy guard by police and private security.

"It could have been anywhere," said Brenner Glickman of Temple Emanu-El of Sarasota. "It could have been any of us. Jews of America feel a kinship with every person killed in Pittsburgh."

Pittsburgh and the Manasota regions are tied by spring training baseball and snowbirds like Mike Roteman.

"I can't eliminate evil," he said. "I can try every single day to be a better person, to do something nice for someone I would not have done the day before, to smile at someone, to make this a better world for everybody to live in."

A second vigil was held tonight in Tampa at Congregation Rodeph Shalom on Bayshore Blvd.

As in Sarasota tonight, people there thanked the first responders in Pittsburgh, several of whom were injured in a shootout with the suspect.

A vigil was also held in Lakeland on Sunday night.

The vigil in Sarasota was attended by 2,000 people, several hundred more than were initially expected.