OXFORD, Mich. – Many have expressed their support for the Oxford community since four students were killed and seven people were injured in a mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30.
There have been t-shirts, stickers, and signs made to show support in the aftermath of the shooting. There was one show of support that happened over the weekend in Oxford and few people even knew it happened until someone posted it on Facebook.
For an hour Saturday (Jan. 15), a single-engine plane made strange and circuitous turns over the landscape and few people knew why.
Kristine Williams and her boyfriend Tim Woods flew at 4,000 feet to make a statement.
“We really wanted to support our community and bring happiness to everyone. We all need it right now,” Williams said.
Modern aviation being what it is, you can track flights on specialized apps. This gave Williams the idea to create a flight path that when finished will end up looking like a ribbon -- the Oxford Strong ribbon.
“There were some pretty sharp turns involved. I’m not gonna lie. We’ve been flying for a long time, but some of those turns were a little tricky,” Williams said.
When Williams and Woods posted their flight path and the map on Facebook, it received an overwhelmingly positive reaction.
It was very personal for Williams. Her 17-year-old son is a senior at Oxford High School and fled from the school during the shooting with seven other classmates. He took his classmates to Meijer in his SUV.
“My son is a hero to me and I wanted to really pay tribute to him and certainly the victims and the community, the school, teachers have been great,” Williams said.
Read: Memorial for Oxford High School shooting victims to be removed until long-term plans are made