III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 89 

Expressing the condolences of the Senate and honoring the memory of the 

victims of the mass shooting in Aurora, Illinois, on February 15, 2019. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the condolences of the Senate and honoring the 

memory of the victims of the mass shooting in Aurora, 

Illinois, on February 15, 2019. 

Whereas, on February 15, 2019, a gunman opened fire at his 

coworkers in the Henry Pratt Company warehouse in Aurora, Illinois; 

Whereas 5 innocent people were tragically killed in this mass 

shooting, and others, including officers of the Aurora Police Department, were wounded; 

Whereas the innocent employees who lost their lives that day 

were— 

(1) Russell Beyer, age 47, of Yorkville, Illinois, a 

25-year company employee, proud union man and shop 

chairman, a loving father of 2 children and a beloved son 


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and brother, and a ‘‘fun, loving gentle giant of a guy,’’ 

who ‘‘would truly give you the shirt off his back’’; 

(2) Vicente Juarez, age 54, of Oswego, Illinois, a 15- 

year company employee and union man, a loving husband 

and father of 3 children and grandfather of 8, who had 

a passion for working on his 1969 Chevy Impala; 

(3) Clayton ‘‘Clay’’ Parks, age 32, of Elgin, Illinois, 

a 2014 graduate of the College of Business at Northern 

Illinois University, a loving husband and father to his 9- 

month-old son, a leader and mentor, and an avid Chicago 

sports fan with a contagious smile and laugh, whose 

greatest joy was his family; 

(4) Josh Pinkard, age 37, of Oswego, Illinois, a 

plant manager for the company since 2018, and a loving 

husband and father of 3 children, whose heartbreaking 

final message to his wife was, ‘‘I love you, I’ve been shot 

at work’’; and 

(5) Trevor Wehner, age 21, of Sheridan, Illinois, a 

senior at Northern Illinois University who was killed on 

the first day of an internship, a loving son, brother, and 

boyfriend, and a high school and college baseball player 

active in his community who ‘‘never met a stranger’’ and 

‘‘made friends with everyone young and old’’; 

Whereas officers from the Aurora Police Department swiftly 

arrived at the shooting scene within 4 minutes of the 

first 911 call; 

Whereas the officers who arrived were fired upon by the gunman almost immediately, 5 officers were wounded, and 

more officers rushed in to take their place; 

Whereas Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said that— 

(1) ‘‘Every time an officer was shot, another went 

in. No one retreated. They forged ahead with shields and 


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weapons as true warriors do and no one backed down 

until the threat was eliminated.’’; and 

(2) ‘‘The officers who were shot that day put their 

own lives at risk to save others. They are what it means 

to be a warrior. Those who were in the gunfight and 

those who stood ready to battle are just as worthy of the 

term hero.’’; 

Whereas the 6 officers wounded or injured were— 

(1) Officer Diego Avila, who has served since 2016; 

(2) Officer John Cebulski, who has served since 

1988; 

(3) Officer Marco Gomez, who has served since 

2005; 

(4) Officer Adam Miller, who has served since 2015; 

(5) Officer Reynaldo Rivera, who has served since 

1995; and 

(6) Officer James Zegar, who has served since 1993; 

Whereas the Aurora Fire Department and a broad array of 

municipal, county, State, and Federal law enforcement 

and medical support agencies also responded to the emergency promptly and assisted capably in the initial crisis 

and the subsequent investigation; 

Whereas the people of Illinois and the United States are 

thankful to law enforcement officers, firefighters, 911 

emergency dispatchers, and emergency medical teams for 

their heroic response to the shooting; 

Whereas the Aurora shooting that took the lives of 2 members of the Northern Illinois University community took 

place one day after the February 14th anniversary of the 

2008 mass shooting at Northern Illinois University that 

killed 5 students and wounded 17 others; 


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Whereas communities across Illinois, including the city of 

Chicago, and across the United States have suffered from 

the epidemic of gun violence in the United States; 

Whereas the people of Aurora, Illinois, have now joined the 

ever-growing list of communities that have suffered from 

a mass shooting; and 

Whereas the Aurora community has come together in support 

of the families and loved ones of the victims and those 

injured by this mass shooting and, will, in the words of 

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, ‘‘emerge as a stronger 

city’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses its sincere condolences to the fam3 ilies, friends, and loved ones of those who were killed 

4 in the tragic shooting on February 15, 2019, in Au5 rora, Illinois: Russell Beyer, Vicente Juarez, Clayton 

6 Parks, Josh Pinkard, and Trevor Wehner; 

7 (2) extends its support and prayers to those 

8 who were wounded or injured and wishes them a 

9 speedy recovery; 

10 (3) commends the law enforcement officers, 

11 emergency responders, and medical personnel who 

12 responded to the shooting with professionalism, dedi13 cation, and bravery; 

14 (4) expresses its support for the Aurora com15 munity in this difficult time; and 


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1 (5) stands in solidarity with the victims of 

2 senseless gun violence in communities across the 

3 United States. 

Æ 


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