Friends and family remember Daniel Kaufman, one of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting, in a vigil in Irwindale. Rick Montanez reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015.
More than 100 mourners chose to remember the fun times with Daniel Kaufman on Saturday, a man believed to be alive by his boyfriend for the 22 hours after the San Bernardino mass shooting, but was later confirmed to have been killed.
Laughter filled the crowd of friends along with the tears and hugs at the Santa Fe Recreational Dam area, where Kaufman frequented the Renaissance Faire.
"You don’t have to be close to feel the effects of what’s happened," Amanda Burke, friend of Kaufman, said.
Kaufman's friends said the job trainer at the Inland Regional Center was funny and always smiling.
He was one of 14 killed in the attacks Wednesday after Ryan Reyes, Kaufman's boyfriend, was initially told Kaufman was only shot in the arm.
"My day didn't start until we shared a story, until we shared a hug, until he told me usually a very off-color joke," Ron Sharp, a friend, said. "I feel like if I walk around the corner I might run into him. That's one of the tougher things, knowing I won't ever get that chance."
Men from a mosque in San Bernardino made the trip to Irwindale specifically to meet Kaufman's friends and express condolences.
"Regardless of race, regardless of religion, he's still a brother in humanity to us," Raheman Ali said.
Kaufman's family has asked for privacy at this time.
His boyfriend told NBC4 that they will be holding a "celebration of life" service in the next two weeks.
