Highland Park shooting victims memorial to debut at new location Nov. 11

Because of production and delivery delays, relocation of the temporary memorial to honor the victims of the Highland Park Independence Day mass shooting has been postponed to Nov. 11, officials said.

Highland Park city council members decided in September, out of concern for the mental health of residents, to move the temporary memorial from its spot near the Veterans Memorial at St. Johns and Central avenues to a rose garden next to city hall, 1707 St. Johns Ave.

While the large makeshift memorial that formed at St. Johns and Central avenues in the wake of the shooting was a comfort to some, it has led others to avoid the area, officials said in September.

Some of the items placed at the initial memorial will be made part of the relocated temporary memorial. Families will have an option to keep items that are meaningful to them.

Before the new location is ready on Nov. 11, workers are installing an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant walkway, enhancing the surrounding landscape and installing plaques for each of the seven people killed, according to Highland Park officials.

The plaques were designed with input from each family's designated contact and will bear tributes in English and Spanish.

At 8 a.m. Nov. 11 city officials will place flowers at the intersection of St. Johns and Central avenues and invite community members to bring the flowers to the rose garden for personal reflection and remembrance, officials said.