Last year, on the 20th of November, the island was shocked by a cruel and gruesome act which resulted in the death of the four in the hands of Zhongren Li.
The lone survivor of the shooting is Dolores Naputi, now 5 years old, who celebrated her birthday last Saturday at her grandparent’s house.
Her birthday was held along with the last day of a novena in remembrance of her father Enrique Naputi, sister Korina Naputi, cousin Richard Borja Naputi and godbrother Vince Rosario who were fatally shot by Li.
The family says that the pain is still fresh, even more so knowing that their loved ones did not die of natural causes.
That fateful day last year shook the CNMI out of its reverie and was reminded of the evils that lurk even in the most tranquil and beautiful of places.
The story of the Nov. 20th shooting circulated around the world and was reported by various media outlets from CBS News to the Huffington Post.
The people have not forgotten the pain the family has to endure.
“As with the tragedy of the September 11th attack, this attack is our tragedy,” said a resident who declined to be identified.
“Four lives were lost by the hands of a disturbed man. It is a time where we all tend to band together as one. We should always help each other and protect each other — Chamorro, Carolinian, Filipino, Chinese, Koreans, statesiders and others.
“Race and color do not matter, as long as we are there for each other and when we are all like one huge family.
The only time we are set apart is through our intentions and we should protect each other from those who intend to inflict pain upon our families and destroy our homes.”
