Newtown Residents Head To National Cathedral To Honor Victims Of Gun Violence
NEWTOWN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - Busloads of people from Newtown, Conn. are Washington, D.C.-bound for a vigil for victims of gun violence.
Washington National Cathedral will host the Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence Thursday, two days before the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that left 20 first graders and six educators dead.
Gunman Adam Lanza killed himself as police closed in.
Newtown Residents Head To National Cathedral For Vigil To Honor Victims Of Gun Violence
Carole King will be among the performers and the World Children's Choir will sing a song composed by Newtown resident Jim Allyn called "My Beautiful Town."
The Newtown Foundation helped organize the event, WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported.
The Cathedral will be able to host about 1,500 for Thursday's vigil.
"Because the Nelson Mandela memorial service is at the Cathedral today, they added additional seats," Monty Frank of the Newtown Action Alliance said. "The response to the vigil has been tremendous."
A live stream of the vigil will begin around 3:40 p.m. on Thursday here: www.newtownfoundation.org/vigil
The Cathedral's Bourden Bell will toll for three minutes to start the vigil to honor the victims of gun violence, according to the program.
The vigil will honor the more than 30,000 Americans who have died from a gunshot since the Newtown massacre, according to the National Cathedral.
For more information on the vigil or to make a donation, visit rally.org/vigil.
Officials and Newtown residents have implored the media and the public to stay away on Saturday so residents can mark the anniversary privately. They've also urged the public to commit acts of kindness to celebrate the memory of the victims.
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