LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Bats honored the victims of the mass shooting that took place just hundreds of feet from Slugger Field in downtown Louisville.

Five people were killed and eight others were injured when a gunman opened fire inside the Preston Pointe building at 333 E. Main Street on April 10. In the team's first home game since the shooting, small bouquets of flowers were placed on five empty seats in the front row behind home plate.

"It's our small way of saying, 'hey, we're thinking of you,'" said Greg Galiette, Louisville Bats president. 

A moment of silence was also held before the game's first pitch.

The minor league baseball team focused on its neighbors and reflected on the tragic day that some employees witnessed from across the street.

"We saw the police cars out of both windows on the corner there and saw the officers with their guns and started hearing the shots," Galiette said. "Still to this day it just didn't seem real, I thought kind of am I watching almost like a movie, it just can't possibly be real."

Typically an escape from reality for baseball fans, Slugger Field became an escape and treatment center for bank employees. It was also a command center for police and where press briefings were held on April 10.

"It really brought it home, it hit hard," Galiette said. "To have the governor in our office. It's just a day we never want to go through again and hopefully never have to."

BATS HONOR MASS SHOOTING VICTIMS

A memorial for victims of mass shooting at Old National Bank building.

The victims of the shooting include:

  • Tommy Elliott, 63
  • Joshua Barrick, 40
  • Jim Tutt, 64
  • Juliana Farmer, 45 
  • Deana Eckert, 57

James Sparks, a baseball fan and recently retired LMPD officer, attended the game.

"It caught me by the heart and I just wanted to go over there to take a picture of it and try to explain to my grandkids exactly what took place," Sparks said. "I knew my coworkers were out there just doing what they had to do and it is never easy to face things we had to face to processing these scenes."

While Tuesday night served as a moment to honor the five lives lost, the ballpark hopes to be a place for people to reflect and find strength.

"We want to be that place people can come together, and they heal, and we grow as a community," Galiette said. 

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