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HILLSDALE, Mich. — Scores of townspeople gathered at an impromptu candlelight vigil in the early evening here following the news of the execution of Eugene Armstrong.

A video posted Monday on a Web site showed the decapitation of a man identified as contractor Eugene Armstrong. Armstrong and two other construction workers, American Jack Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley, were abducted Thursday.

Richard Lee (ENLARGE)
Two Hillsdale, Mich., women hug before Monday night's candelight vigil at the courthouse.
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"This is what we did not want to hear," Armstrong's family said in a statement.

The militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the slaying of Armstrong and said another hostage — either an American or a Briton — would be killed in 24 hours.

In the statement Monday, Cyndi Armstrong, a cousin by marriage, remembered Armstrong, known as Jack, as "a good guy" who "didn't like to stay in one place. He loved to travel."

She said his family was praying for Hensley, Bigley and their families.

Armstrong's cousin, Rick Gamber, said on NBC's "Today Show" Tuesday that Armstrong was trying to do good in Iraq but had mentioned the danger and "knew that he was being watched."

"I would just hope that people would realize this isn't something that there should be retaliation for," Gamber said. "Our family feels a great deal of grief. We hope the criminals are brought to justice, but we certainly don't want people to overreact and do something foolish."

Armstrong's brother Frank received a call Thursday from the FBI to identify his 52-year-old brother on an earlier videotape from the kidnappers, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"It's been hard for me and my family," Frank Armstrong told the newspaper Monday from his home in Osseo, near Hillsdale.

During a prayer vigil, two ministers addressed a crowd in front of the courthouse on the small city's main street. Yellow ribbons adorned the building's bannister and trees around it, and many in the crowd carried American flags.

Donna Mackay did not know Armstrong or his family, but tears shone in her eyes as she explained that she and two friends had organized the prayer vigil before they learned of the hostage's death.

"We wanted to show the family we support them," said Mackay, 53.

Across the street from the court, homemade banners consoled: "Our prayers are with you," and "Our nation mourns your loss." The vigil featured hymns such as "Amazing Grace," patriotic songs and the Pledge of Allegiance.

"He was a member of our community. It's such a tragedy, so shocking. How can we ever understand why anybody would do this?" said Jan Tesch, 59.

Armstrong grew up in Hillsdale, about 100 miles southwest of Detroit, but left the area around 1990. His construction work took him around the world; he lived in Thailand with his wife before going to Iraq.

Gamber said his cousin had also worked on construction projects in Angola and Bosnia.

"I don't know that he ever had second thoughts about it," Gamber said. "I think certainly those of us in the family would have much preferred that Jack had this out of his system and had stayed away from there, but he's somebody who once he committed himself to do something wasn't someone to turn back on it."