A Day Filled With Sorrow For Residents Of Newtown, Conn.
NEWTOWN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- It was a Sunday filled with sorrow at places of worship across Newtown, Conn., Sunday – two days after a lone gunman opened fire on an elementary school and killed 26 people.
As CBS 2's Ann Mercogliano reported, people in the grieving town have been searching for comfort, after gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Outside St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, tears kept falling Sunday. It was clear nothing could ease the pain of this weeping community, and nothing can heal their broken hearts.
No words that can offer the kind of understanding for what everyone's going through," said Newtown resident Matthew Sullivan.
Mary Barry came to church to support the families. She said the hymns brought everyone to tears.
"To remember those and saying the Our Father, that His will, will be done because this is such a tragic thing that we have to remember that He's there for us," she said.
In the tightknit town, memorials have popped up on nearly every street corner. There were also signs asking the world to remember and pray for the 26 victims, 20 of them children.
Mary Lynn Stewart brought her 8-year old daughter, Gracie, to Newtown to honor the kids who were just like her daughter.
"It could have been my daughter," Stewart said. "My husband works in this town and had we moved here that would have been her school."
John Ritskowitz brought his granddaughter's teddy bear. He lost his son last year, and felt compelled to be here.
"It brings back a lot of stuff," said Risowkitz of Newington, Conn. "I have a grandchild. I have four. I just can't get it out of my head."
Jennifer Jones attended a service at Newtown Congregational Church with her son, and said the whole community is just trying to make sense of all this.
"We still don't have any reasoning, not that there could be a reason," she said. "It's a shadow over our town."
It is a shadow that Jones says will be there for a long time to come.
Newtown Youth and Family Services will have therapists available all week for parents, students and school staff.
Meanwhile, Connecticut State Police have asked that any person or business looking to assist the victims' families may call the 211 Infoline. Assistance may include victims' assistance agencies, counseling, religious surgeries, dog therapy, and transportation services.
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