Community members spoke out against gun violence Thursday at a Maili Beach Park vigil following a deadly shooting that killed two people.

Local religious and elected leaders led the vigil at the park in response to the death of Gary Rabellizsa- Manner, 34, and Cathy Rabellizsa, 59, who were killed April 14 in what is being classified as a mass shooting at a Maili cockfight.

More than 150 people attended the vigil, many of whom were described as members of the Rabellizsa family. The vigil took place on the grassy area near the beach right before sunset, although family members stayed until dark. Family members could be seen embracing each other at the vigil.

Rabellizsa-Manner’s wife, Kat Rabellizsa, was one of the attendees and was also embraced by many who were there, but she declined to speak to the media.

She said in a GoFundMe page set up for her husband that they were together for 16 years and had six children together. She wrote that he was “a victim of ‘wrong place, wrong time,’ when he bravely inserted himself between two groups of men who had started an altercation amongst themselves. As a result of trying to keep the peace, my husband was fatally shot multiple times.”

Cathy Rabellizsa’s granddaughter, 18-year-old Nalani Floerke- Rabellizsa, at the vigil told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “I know that they’re both watching over us. I just wish it didn’t happen the way it happened. They weren’t supposed to leave us like that.”

The Rev. Mark Kekaileonui Haworth, of Halau Waa Episcopal Church in Kapolei, was one of the religious leaders at the vigil. He said afterward that bringing the community together after tragic events helps the healing process for families and communities.

He said that gun violence is becoming “its own pandemic.”

Haworth, who also has worked in the Waianae area, added, “The only way we’re going to stop it is really by reaching out and having community opportunities to come together.”

The group, in a prayer, remembered those who died because of gun violence and mass shootings.

The vigil was organized by the offices of elected officials who represent the area, including Sen. Maile Shimabukuro and Reps. Cedric Gates and Darius Kila.

Kila, who was in attendance, told the attendees that on the night of the shooting, he “could not sleep not knowing fully what was happening.”

In an interview with the Star-Advertiser, he said that there are laws protecting against gun violence and illegal cockfighting that need to be better enforced.

He was considering the idea of legislation for more gun protections, but said he has to consider the responsible gun owners and hunters who also would be affected, noting that illegal activity with guns is often associated with illegal gun ownership.

Kila said that there are laws to prevent shootings but that they’re not enforced properly.

“As a state, how do we respond to situations like this? Because we have legislation on the books, but what this has highlighted is the lack of … enforcement,” Kila said. “Criminals know the Honolulu Police Department is short 300 officers, and they’re taking advantage of the shortfalls.”

He added that cockfighting is also illegal and that it’s a problem because it attracts violence.

“It has now become more than just a backyard sport — it’s an organized, illegal crime,” he said. “It has then in turn become a magnet for more crime, because all you need is one area for crime to be sanctioned for other crime to happen.”

Hawaii already has among some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and Kila said more gun restrictions in the state are coming before focusing again on the need for enforcement.

“We make these efforts for law, but it doesn’t matter if we can’t enforce the law,” Kila said.

Two suspects have been charged with first- and second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder for the shooting, which wounded three other people. The suspects turned themselves in to police Tuesday night.

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Star-Advertiser photographer Cindy Ellen Russell contributed to this story.