Vigil Honors Sandy Hook Victims

Northlanders gather to remember and honor victims of 2012 massacre

DULUTH, Minn.

Four years ago, 20 children and six staff members lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Here in Duluth, people gathered to honor the victims of the shooting.

it’s been 4 years since the sandy hook massacre.

The victims are being remembered all over the country, including at the First Lutheran Church in Duluth.

A candle was lit in the name of each sandy hook victim today.

Vigil coordinators say they hope remembering the loss will help influence policy and culture changes that they believe are necessary to limit gun violence.

Many here today say they know this kind of pain all too well.

“These are real people with real families who are grieving for them years and years and years later. It doesn’t matter if it was yesterday or, in my case, my sister was shot to death 23 years ago. It never goes away,” says Northland Brady Campaign Co-President Joan Peterson, an organizer of the vigil.

Organizers say the best way to honor these victims is by taking action and putting an end to gun violence nationwide. They’d like legislation for tighter restrictions on background checks for gun purchases.

They say that with legal and cultural changes, ending the violence is possible.