Former El Paso Mayor Dee Margo keeps scrapbook of letters showing support after Aug. 3 shooting

EL PASO, Texas -- Dee Margo, while flipping through a scrapbook of letters and cards from around the world, recalls the heinous shooting that left 23 people dead in August of 2019 when he was El Paso's mayor.

"It’s just personal. It was an attack on us,” Margo explained while fighting back tears.

Margo sat down with ABC 7 to recount his experiences from that fateful day in August. The news broken to him while he was over 500 miles away in Austin, Texas. Flying home as soon as he could, he had to sit on a plane without knowing what was happening in his home city.

Margo had no playbook on what to do next. He sat through briefings, visited reunification centers, and talked to families at hospitals as they were being told about the loss of their loved ones.

“And all I could do… cry and pray for them," Margo said.

Margo does not want this tragedy to define El Paso. He instead wants the city's response to be at the forefront. Margo explained the response from El Paso's emergency teams and foundations as "phenomenal." He recalls the image of a line wrapped around the building of a blood donation center as El Pasoans stepped up to help those in need.

“That’s what we are as a community, and that’s something you can’t explain, you got to experience,” Margo explained.

While Margo did not have a playbook for handling this situation, he now has a scrapbook filled with countless letters and cards filled with condolences that were sent to him in the months after the shooting. The letters ranged from everyday citizens, other city mayors, and even cards from victims' families.

“I don’t want anybody forgotten," Margo said.