Community gathers for vigil honoring 5-year-old boy killed in Missouri explosion

By Jackson Kurtz & Nick Sloan

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — The Lexington, Missouri, community came together to remember 5-year-old Alistair, who died in last week’s explosion.

Dozens gathered for a memorial honoring Alistair, offering prayers and support for the Cunningham family and others mourning the tragedy.

“It’s a lot of pain to lose a child so young and so innocent,” said Pastor Russell Price of First Baptist Church.

The vigil included friends, neighbors and strangers alike, many of whom never met the family, but felt called to support them.

“We’ve been lifting them up in our prayers,” said Aubrey Burk. “We’ve contributed everything we could to be able to help them, and we’ll continue to pray for them.”

Price encouraged attendees to lean on faith and each other as the community heals.

“We don’t necessarily know what a person in their shoes needs,” he said. “All we can do is our very best, and when that’s not enough, we have Jesus Christ. We’ve got to lean on Him for our strength.”

Despite the pain, Price said he’s seen hope rising.

“We have a number of people who are really wanting to see our community healed, rebuilt and unified together,” he said.

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