Superheroes in capes, masks, and police officer and firefighter uniforms gathered at a church in South Carolina on Wednesday to pay their respects to 6-year-old Jacob Hall.
Jacob was one of three people shot last week when a teenager armed with a pistol opened fire at Townville Elementary School. Jacob died Saturday after succumbing to his injuries.
The young boy was laid to rest in his Batman costume during a touching and heartbreaking ceremony at Oakdale Baptist Church. The costumes, balloons and superhero figurines brought a bit of color to an otherwise heartbreaking ceremony.
Before the funeral, Renae Hall, the boy’s mother, encouraged everyone who was attending to come dressed as a superhero because she knew there would be a lot of children at the service. The ceremony, she told FOX Carolina, was fitting because her son loved superheroes and “wanted to save everybody.”
The Hall family invited John Buckland, who dresses as superheroes for Heroes 4 Higher, to the Wednesday service. Buckland, dressed as Batman, drove a Batmobile from West Virginia to the Townville church to be a part of the funeral procession.
A tearful and visibly shaken Renae Hall was dressed as Batman’s sidekick, Robin, as family members walked her to the front of the church. She collapsed when she reached the casket, which was adorned with flowers, balloons and figurines.
“Out of this community, the world is learning how to do it right, and they’re learning it from a 6-year-old boy,” Buckland, dressed as Batman, said during the service, according to local news station KFOR.
“Let us take what we’ve learned from Jacob and let it make us a better person,” he added.
”Last Wednesday, darkness and evil came to Townville,” Rev. Tim Marcengill said during the service. “But this Wednesday, there’s grace and faith and hope and love that will win in the end of this superhero story.”
More than 1,000 people, hundreds dressed as heroes, attended the funeral, according to ABC News. Many others across the country and worldwide who could not attend the funeral dressed in superhero-themed outfits Wednesday, showing their support by tagging #RIPJacob on social media.
Below, see the ceremony that Hall’s parents said Jacob would’ve wanted ― a gathering of superheroes honoring one of their own fallen.
