CHICAGO — There was a call for peace and love Wednesday night at Chicago’s Federal Plaza in the wake of a fatal shooting at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.

The attack claimed the lives of emergency room doctor Tamara O’Neal, pharmacy resident Dayna Less and Chicago police Officer Samuel Jimenez. All died at the hands of a gunman with a history of violence toward women. He was targeting O’Neal, his former fiancée.

At the vigil, frustrated Chicagoans spoke from their hearts as they tried to make sense of the latest mass shooting.

“I’m out here because something has to be done before the next one,” one woman said. “It’s an epidemic.”

On the eve of Thanksgiving, the vigil sought to bring solace and enlightenment to the families and friends who are left to deal with the pain and an unanswered question: Why?

Watch the entire vigil at Federal Plaza in Chicago: