The woman killed in the Charlottesville, Va., protest violence has been identified as Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal, the N.Y. Daily News reported Sunday.
The city of Charlottesville also tweeted a statement Sunday afternoon.
“Charlottesville resident Heather Heyer was struck down by a vehicle while exercising her peaceful first-amendment right to speech. This senseless act of violence rips a hole in our collective hearts,” the city of Charlottesville said in a statement. “While it will never make up for the loss of a member of our community, we will pursue charges against the driver of the vehicle that caused her death and are confident justice will prevail.”
Heyer, hailing from Ruckersville, Va., worked for the Miller Law Group and lived in Charlottesville, Fox News reported Sunday.
Heyer’s last public Facebook post suggested she had a reason to be downtown Saturday.
“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention,” wrote Heyer, quoting a popular political slogan a week after the 2016 presidential election.
Police did not immediately identify Heyer as the fatal victim in Saturday’s wreck.
“She died doing what was right. My heart is broken, but I am forever proud of her,” Heyer’s childhood friend Felicia Correa, who spoke on behalf of the victim’s mother, told the Daily News.
“We grew up together. We lived on the same street, went to the same school, rode the bus together and played together,” Correa said.
A GoFundMe webpage set up for Heyer’s family raised more than $121,000 in a few short hours after being set up early Sunday.