The people of Kirkwood lined their streets with hundreds of candles Thurday evening, lighting the city in a display of unity one week after a disgruntled resident's deadly City Hall rampage.

The flickering flames of candles, many in paper bags weighted down with sand, lit virtually every block in memory of those killed or injured in the last week.

"I've never seen anything like this before," said Anne Brennan, who placed candles along the sidewalk of her own block with her husband, Tom.

They only wish Mayor Mike Swoboda, who remains in critical condition after he was shot in the head, were able to watch his city come together with such respect and compassion.

"He would have absolutely loved seeing this," Tom Brennan said.

Kirkwood resident Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton shot and killed two police officers, two City Council members and the public works director during a council meeting on Feb. 7. Police then shot and killed Thornton.

The idea of the candles, a sort of citywide vigil, started with about 150 businesses. Then residents heard about the memorial and they started illuminating their own sidewalks.

Downtown Kirkwood was a whir of pedestrian and vehicle traffic Thursday evening. Couples walked hand-in-hand to Valentine's Day dinners past the flickering candles. Groups of kids returned home from pizza places and coffee shops. Some residents said the atmosphere was starting to return to normal.

Fifteen-year-old Emily Coates captured the candle-lined sidewalks on a video recorder. She had also recorded the helicopters flying over Kirkwood the night of the shooting, and other community vigils.

"It's kind of like they're healing us," she said.

To resident Donna McCarthy, the candles also symbolized healing, as the city moves past the outbreak of violence. Thornton's funeral was held Thursday; the last of his victims' funerals was held on Wednesday.

"(The candles) show that we'll pull through this and help persevere together," McCarthy said, as she placed her change in a restaurant donation box for victims of the shooting.

"They need to know that their memory will always be with us," she said. "Kirkwood is like no other city."

aleventis@post-dispatch.com | 618-624-2645