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Old Bridge Pathmark Reopens One Week After Deadly Shooting

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey supermarket reopened Friday one week after an employee gunned down two co-workers before killing himself.

Candles, flowers and a sign were in front of the Pathmark in Old Bridge in memory of 18-year-old Cristina LoBrutto and 24-year-old Bryan Breen -- the victims of the Aug. 31 shooting.

Some customers stopped and cried in front of the memorial, CBS 2's Christine Sloan reported. Customer Sally Kneff had to stop and pray in front of the memorial surrounded by candles and flowers.

WCBS 880's Jim Smith Reports

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"What an awesome, awesome boy. I watched him from the day he started until now. Cristina, I only knew her in line -- her face was like an angel," Kneff said.

Megan Javitz and her friend said they also came to the Pathmark together on Friday to shop.

"We just held ourselves together. We didn't say too much to anybody in there because they're dealing with something that's hard to understand," Javitz told Sloan.

One customer that talked to WCBS 880's Jim Smith said the banner helps with the healing process.

"It lets you know that they're remembering, they're caring. It's a big deal to them," that customer said, adding it will take time to adjust to seeing business as usual.

"It almost seems like nothing happened, you know? I don't like that aspect of it, but at the same time, life has to carry on," he added.

Other customers said they were there to pay their respects, but it was too painful to enter the store.

In a statement, the Old Bridge Pathmark said it was grateful for the community's outpouring of support:

"The incident at our Old Bridge Pathmark Store on August 31 was a shock and tragedy for all of us. We are grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from the community of Old Bridge, and we look forward to once again serving our neighborhood residents."

Plaques honoring two victims inside Old Bridge Pathmark
Plaques honoring two victims inside Old Bridge Pathmark (credit: Pathmark)

On Thursday, hundreds gathered inside St. Ambrose Church in Old Bridge for LoBrutto's funeral.

LoBrutto and Breen were killed last Friday morning when their co-worker, 23-year-old Terence Tyler, walked into the store armed with an AK-47 and an automatic pistol and opened fire, prosecutors said.

LoBrutto and Breen happened to be in the front aisle when the gunman started shooting. Ten other employees managed to escape before Tyler turned the gun on himself, prosecutors said.

Lobrutto was buried at St. Gabriel Cemetery in Marlboro. Breen was laid to rest on Wednesday. More than 300 people attended his funeral.

Officials do not believe the victims were specifically targeted. It's still not clear what sparked the shootings.

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