Connecticut church pastor makes 2,300 mile drive to memorial to show support for El Paso

A pastor drove for four days to visit the El Paso attack victims memorial to counteract the suspected attacker’s own drive to the shooting scene.

Pastor Adam Bowles from Connecticut drove 2,300 miles over four days with two friends while raising money for shooting victims. Bowles said he wanted to do something that went directly against what the suspected shooter did, driving ten hours from a Dallas suburb to attack the city.

He said he’s not here to help in El Paso but to get people from out of town to contribute.

“I felt a little foolish leaving from Connecticut to take this drive. I’m not unaware of how it can almost be just a gesture, but it comes with a message that of course there’s hope. Of course, we can do something. Relly, when you go through a tragedy it tends to bring out the best in people. We’ve seen the worst of our nation, but as I;ve come into El Paso I’m seeing the best of our nation,” Bowles said.

The pastor said his trip was not to give El Paso help we’re already giving ourselves, but to get people to bring help in from outside the city.

Bowles and his friends worked to raise at least one dollar for every mile traveled, to add to the more than $5 million already raised by the El Paso Community Foundation and the Paso Del Norte Foundation.