SAN ANTONIO – Loved ones and complete strangers gathered Saturday to remember a woman who was killed while running in O.P. Schnabel Park.
Lauren Bump was attacked and murdered on New Year's Eve.
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Thursday would have been her 25th birthday.
In what has been a tough week for those who knew Lauren, family and friends decided to get together Saturday to celebrate her life at the same park where she was killed.
"Her actual birthday was on the 24th. She'd be 25 and today we are just gathering here at the park in remembrance of her," said Lauren's oldest brother, Ryan Bump. "Everything is going to be pink. We are just going to celebrate her life and keep the legacy going."
Those attending the celebration participated in a special balloon release and a silent mile run.
Family members said they also had T-shirts made to benefit Lauren's memorial foundation, which helps provide missionary medical groups in Guatemala.
"It's a way that we can still share her life, and her love for everybody and the love that she had for everybody," said Lauren's best friend, Gabriella Jimenez. "And I think it's just a way for us to continue to have her life lived, because she is still here with us. So it's not like she's really gone."
Among the group gathered Saturday were complete strangers and fellow runners like Liz Reyes, who felt the need to help out the cause.
"Lauren, she's a runner and you're a part of my family, no matter what -- spiritual bond," said Reyes.