Midnight vigil remembers the lives lost during the Aurora movie theater shooting
On July 20, 2012, 12 people lost their lives, and 70 people were injured when a gunman opened fire in an Aurora movie theatre. Every year since, the community has come together at midnight on July 20th to remember the victims of that shooting. The vigil takes place at Reflection Memorial Garden in Aurora, a place built in honor of those lost that day.
The procession and candlelight vigil included friends, family, community members, and even some survivors of the shooting. They gather every year to remember every person killed that day. One-by-one, each of the names were read out loud, and participants walk among memorial markers. Speakers share memories about those who died that night, and the ripple effect the shooting has had throughout the last ten years.
"Terry asked that two candles be added, bringing awareness to the ripple effect that tragedy has on people. Two people have sadly passed on, the weight that those bear. Heather and Christy, we know that you're up there with Sully," one speaker said during the vigil.
Emotions ran high when loved ones talked about the youngest shooting victim, Veronica Moser-Sullivan. She was just 6-years-old on July 20, 2012. One of Moser-Sullivan's relatives spoke about her few years of life, and that now, ten years later, there are nearly 40 candles by Veronica's name at the memorial.
"Just a few months later, she welcomed more students from Sandy Hook. We have placed 39 candles here. Those children looking down on us. They are only seeing the beauty around us here, and remembering the children of Sandy Hook, and Uvalde," said Heather Dearman, cousin to Veronica Moser-Sullivan and CEO of the 720 Memorial Foundation.
The 720 Memorial Foundation organized to raise money and build the Reflection Memorial Garden. The Foundation is made up largely off survivors of the shooting, and victims family members. The garden was designed to be a place of healing, comfort and hope. Ten years later it is an important place for the community to remember.
"I want people to remember that we should all live our lives through the eyes of a child, such as my cousin's, 6-year-old Veronica. She had such joy in her heart and a love for life and so energetic, like all other children, they only see the beauty in the world, and so we have to remember that," Dearman told CBS4.
The Foundation raised money for a sculpture depicting paper cranes to put in the garden. It sends paper crane wreaths to other communities who experience mass shootings.
