Stewartville holds vigil for the families of a gunman and his victim

STEWARTVILLE, Minn. – In a cold, windy parking lot, amid the glow of plastic candles, dozens gathered at a vigil near Stewartville City Hall to turn tragedy into testimony.

In the darkness, they prayed for the families affected by the shocking shooting that took place outside the high school last week.

The community of 7,000 residents just south of Rochester has spent the past five days embracing the families of both a 19-year-old former wrestler and the high school student he shot in the parking lot of Stewartville High School early Friday morning.

“Usually when you hear something terrible like this happen there’s a bad guy, and they’re slamming the family,” said Sunshine Kramer, who lives with her husband Jeriah just down the road from the school.

They haven’t seen anything like that happen in the area thus far — only calls for support.

“That’s so good,” she said.

Logan Moyer, a 2024 Stewartville graduate, shot and injured a high school student early Friday. Moyer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said Monday that a motive was still unclear.

“We don’t know why and we may not ever know why,” he said.

The community has supported the families of both Moyer and the victim in the days following the shooting. The Stewartville Wrestling Booster Club has raised about $46,000 for the families’ medical costs.

In a statement on Stewartville’s official Facebook page, Mayor Jimmie-John King called on residents to respect and embrace both families, as well as each other.

“Let us honor the spirit of the season — not by pretending everything is okay — but by loving our neighbors more intentionally, especially those who are suffering in ways we cannot fully understand," King wrote.

She’s donated $500 to the families’ fundraiser as well as food for both families at local church drives. Yet her children have been uncomfortable going to similar events.

One of her children questioned why she came to the vigil Wednesday night in support of the families. Lauer said it was important to come together to support people who hurt.

“When something like this happens in a small town, people don’t know what to do,” Lauer said. “Sometimes it’s easier to try to come together.”

King said what happened in Stewartville was shocking, but the community response so far isn’t. He said this is the kind of community that organized parades for residents cooped up during the COVID-19 pandemic, a place where longstanding families welcome newcomers.

“This is a situation we’ve never faced before, and it’s really, really brought the community together,” King said.

The mayor said he’s less concerned about knowing why the shooting happened than helping both families move forward.

He’s found he’s not alone.

“That’s one thing I’ve been really amazed with so far,” he said. “The people I’ve talked to around town, they’re not all coming up with conspiracy theories.”

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Torgerson, the sheriff, confirmed Moyer was a former wrestler on the team but said he was not a coach, volunteer or aide. An obituary for Moyer said he was a volunteer coach his senior year.

The sheriff revealed Monday the shooting took place about 100 yards from the bus in the school’s parking lot. At the time of the shooting, the wrestlers were either on the bus or weighing themselves inside.

Stewartville’s middle and high school classes have returned to a normal schedule after a late start Monday. District officials brought in law enforcement and additional mental health counselors from nearby districts to support students and staff.