Alton seeks to come to grips with tragedy

ALTON — Many people in and around town on Friday spoke about the shock they experienced after learning that an 11-year-old boy allegedly shot a man and woman in their own home. Three days later, the grief and trauma remain over the deaths of James and Lizette Eckert.

As with any loss, one way to process that grief is through ceremony. The Eckerts, as well as their three children, were parishoners at St. Katherine Drexel Church.

Rick Hilton, deacon at the church, said a previously-scheduled youth ministry event on Friday was replaced with a candlelight vigil for the family, and that Rev. Robert Cole spoke of the tragedy during services on Sunday.

“He talked at times about God being with us always, that we’re never alone,” Hilton said.

The church will host a combined wake for James and Lizette on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.; and a funeral mass at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Hilton said the church community’s response has been “one of love, empathy and service, guided by our faith.” The Eckert family was a “familiar sight” at the church, he added.

“This community loves its members, this family is and has been well-loved by this community.” Hilton said he has seen “an outpouring of profound sympathy, sadness and a desire to help in any way we can.”

For the first responders – police, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel – the events of Friday, March 15, began with an early morning report of shots fired, then the victims were discovered – Lizette Eckert deceased on the scene, James was in critical condition and rushed to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where he later died.

An autopsy performed Monday determined that James Eckert died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and ruled that the death was a homicide.

Meanwhile, police had to search the woods near the home for a suspected shooter, who was believed to still be armed. It took about 90 minutes before he was taken into custody.

Investigation into the deaths has been taken over by the office of the state’s Attorney General.

“I can’t speak to the investigation specifically,” said Alton Police Chief Ryan Heath. He said the town’s and region’s first responders train so that they can do their jobs during the incident.

“We train to deal with all incidents, of course this being at the top level of magnitude. You hope that training takes over,” he said. But dealing the emotional weight of the experience is a task of its own.

“In general, any time of tragic incident is hard for first responders to deal with, sometimes it hits close to home. It’s hard for everyone and traumatic for everybody as a whole,” said Heath.

Those who are professionally obligated to respond to such events carry a unique burden, Heath said, and added that there are specialized services available to first responders who choose to make use of them.

Despite the challenges of the day, Heath said he was proud of how his officers, as well as those of the various other departments that responded, performed on Friday.

“It’s tragic, but we’re dealing with it," he said. "I’m proud of our department, I’m proud of our agencies. I’m proud of our community. We’re dealing with it day by day. Everyone pulled together and responded accordingly.”

For some first responders, the challenge is only beginning. They still have to put on their uniforms and approach another day.

“We are all human and we all have families as well,” Heath said. “That’s the tricky part, you’ve got to put it behind you and move on.”