GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – The entire parish of St. Rose Catholic Church is mourning the loss of one of its parishioners who was killed after being caught in the crossfire of a shooting in Columbus.
Kevin Sobnosky, 21, attended elementary school at St. Rose, and his family has been a part of the parish for a long time.
“He was a friend to everyone, and he was just a good, smart boy, involved in the church, a Boy Scout. He was just a good boy,” said Katie Myers, Sobnosky’s third-grade teacher.
Myers said Sobnosky’s death is hard to process.
“Everybody was just in shock, and we were all heartbroken once we heard,” she said.
Sobnosky was with three other friends this weekend in Columbus. Police said the vehicle they were in was hit by gunfire, which hit Sobnosky.
“He was a wonderful science student. He loved science, but he was a wonderful student all around,” said teacher Christine Santana. “Such a kind, gentle kid, and he was always willing to participate in class, offer answers, offer help to students who weren’t quite understanding to things so much, so he was wonderful.”
Santana taught Kevin for three years. She said the parish and school have come together at such a difficult time.
“Teachers reaching out, even people who are no longer at the school, reaching out, you know, wanting to offer condolences, prayers and thoughts,” she said.
Both the teachers as well as the priest at St. Rose said the church community is like a family.
“The longer that I am here, it really is just that — it’s a caring, loving, tight-knit family,” said Father Jordan Kelly.
Father Kelly said the church will continue to pray for the Sobnosky family.
“We feel the pain with them, and we can never feel as they do, but we feel with them,” he said.
Father Kelly has organized a prayer vigil to take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Rose. He is hoping that it can serve as a time to remember Sobnosky and pray for his family during this hard time.
Rachel Sobnosky, Kevin’s sister, shared a statement following his death, saying there was much to say about her brother:
“He could make people smile and laugh without even trying. For a self-proclaimed introvert, he sure had a lot of friends.
He was incredibly smart. He was valedictorian in high school, and he never even had to pick up a book to study. He was about to graduate in the spring with a degree in computer science from YSU, and he was even teaching himself to code and starting to make websites. He always planned on starting his own business, and he and my dad were even making business plans already. He could fix almost any broken computer or device.
He was also really athletic. He loved soccer so much, and he even played intramural in college. He recently started playing intramural flag football, too, and just became his team’s kicker. He spent hours every day at the gym.
When he wasn’t coding, he liked to play the piano or video games. He was so incredibly talented, and he had huge aspirations. My family and I are devastated that we’ll never get to see him achieve his dreams. He never tried to be anyone but himself. He was truly one of a kind.”