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Antonio Basco gets a hug from from a mourner during the funeral service for his longtime companion Margie Reckard, Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, at La Paz Faith Memorial & Spiritual Center in El Paso, Texas. Reckard was among those killed in a mass shooting on Aug. 3. AP/PTI Photo[/caption]
El Paso (Texas), Aug. 17 (IANS): Antonio Basco, who extended an open invite for people to attend his wife who died in the El Paso mass shooting in Texas, was shocked when hundreds queuing to get in to the church for the service, the media reported on Saturday.
The size of the crowd was so huge that the funeral company had to move the service to a larger facility, the BBC reported.
As he walked in, Basco said: "This is incredible."
About 700 people queued to pay their respects to his wife, Reckard, 63, one of 22 people killed when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart store on August 3.
The line went around the church and along another road.
Many people came from across the US.
According to the New York Times, about 900 floral arrangements sent from as far afield as Asia were sent to the service.
Some were sent from Dayton, Ohio, where another mass shooting killed nine people just hours after the attack in El Paso.
The funeral home director, Harrison B Johnson told the BBC they had decided to cover the full cost of the funeral.
"It is our privilege to honour and serve the community to try and make that burden lighter after a tragedy that has devastated our community.
"We just wanted to do our part to help in some small way."