KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Workers at the ConAgra Foods Inc. processing plant have dedicated a simple memorial to five colleagues who were shot a year ago.

But wounds remain fresh among those who knew the victims of the July 2, 2004, shooting – the worst incident of workplace violence in the Kansas City area’s history.

“It is still a bad memory,” said Deya Barnett of Kansas City, Kan., whose father, Lonnie Ellingburg, was killed. “We still have fresh wounds. One year has passed, and we are still left with unresolved issues.”

Police say Elijah Brown, a 21-year-old employee at the plant, took two handguns from a ConAgra locker, entered an employee break room and opened fire, killing five people and wounding two. Police say Brown was angry over teasing he had received from co-workers, chose his victims, then turned the gun on himself.

Barnett said her family has forgiven Brown but will never forget what he did.

“It didn’t have to be. It just didn’t have to be,” Barnett said of her father’s death. “His life didn’t have to end like that.”

Still, Barnett and others are trying to heal, with the memorial among the first steps. The memorial consists of a flower bed on a knoll in the lawn of the plant. There is also a plaque commemorating the victims.

“We’re trying to look forward, not back,” said Julie De-Young, a spokeswoman for the company.

Besides 46-year-old Ellingburg, those killed were Travis Nelson, 23, and Leonardo Rodriguez, 49, both of Kansas City, Kan.; Ardell L. Edwards, 55, of Grandview, Mo.; and Jose Ibarra, 45, of Mexico.