Five days before Sulejman Talovic massacred five people at Trolley Square, his mother and sisters showed up at a neighbor's house, bearing gifts to a family that had just suffered a sudden loss.
   Sabira Talovic and her three young daughters went to see Janene Hoffman, whose 48-year-old husband, Wade Hoffman, died suddenly on Feb. 6 of an infection.
   The Talovics offered flowers to Hoffman and a robe, slippers and stuffed animal to her daughter, Olivia Hoffman.
   Sabira Talovic also handed Hoffman $100.
   “It was very generous, because I know they don't have a lot of money,” Hoffman said. “But that's the kind of family they are.”
   The gesture illustrates the kind of caring neighbors that Hoffman has had for the past three years, Hoffman said.
   Hoffman apparently is not alone in that sentiment.
   On the gate of the Talovic home and draped around the family's mailbox are yellow balloons, a sign with Sulejman's name, a burning candle, cards and flowers. A red, heart-shaped balloon left at the back door reads, "I love you,"
   They are tokens left by friends and strangers alike in the wake of Monday's tragedy.
   One man stopped by to leave irises, saying he wanted the family to know they are not alone in the community.
   Erika Johnson, an immigrant who survived the Nazi pogrom in Poland, dropped by to show support to the Talovics, offering a small donation to help the family take their son's body back to Bosnia for burial. "Just some pennies and quarters I've saved up," she said.
   Sulejman Talovic, the 18-year-old man who killed five people and injured four in Trolley Square mall Monday, lived with his parents and three sisters, ages 13, 11 and 7, at this simple, one-story house near the state Fairpark.
   Talovic's two youngest sisters often played with Hoffman's 7-year-old daughter in Hoffman's home, and the mother talked to her occasionally, using her daughters to translate, Hoffman said.
   But Sulejman was rarely seen, she said.
   “I saw him coming and going to work sometimes,” she said. “But that's about it."
   Hoffman described the Talovic family as nice, generous, caring and spiritual. She said she worries they will suffer persecution as a result of the son's actions.
   “I do worry that there will be a misconception about the family,” Hoffman said. “For one, they are Muslim, and there's everything that goes with that these days. People should know this could happen to any family. It doesn't reflect on bad parenting.”
   The Talovics are religious people, Hoffman said, and often asked her about her Christian traditions. When Sabira Talovic came over the day after Hoffman's husband died, she asked what friends traditionally do to help those who suffer a loss.
   Hoffman often saw Sabira, her husband, Suljo, and their three daughters leave for Muslim services, she said. When the daughters came over, Hoffman said she made sure to prepare food they could eat because they do not eat pork for religious reasons.
   While Sabira Talovic often brought dolls and other toys for her daughter to play with, Hoffman said their reaction to her husband's death came as a particularly touching gesture.
   rrizzo@sltrib.com