Students who survived the Sandy Hook shooting graduated from high school Wednesday without 20 of their classmates who were tragically killed 12 years ago, and shared heartbreaking memories of one of the deadliest school massacres in U.S. history .
Newton High School’s Class of 2024 includes about 60 students who were at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, when Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children ages six and seven, as well as six members of staff.
The shooting is the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history and the fourth-worst mass shooting.
While high school graduations are typically a joyful day for teenagers, the absence of the murdered students made the occasion bittersweet.
Before their graduation, six Sandy Hook alumni — Matt Holden, Emma Ehrens, Henry Terifay, Lily Wasilnak, Ella Seaver and Grace Fisher — spoke about their mixed emotions at the milestone as they remembered the classmates they lost.
Six Sandy Hook alumni — Matt Holden, Emma Ehrens, Henry Terifay, Lily Wasilnak, Ella Seaver and Grace Fisher — spoke to ABC’s GMA about their mixed emotions at graduation as they remember the classmates they lost in the deadly 2012 school shooting. .
Teenagers lament how little has changed since the Sandy Hook shooting and how the same tragic story continues to repeat itself in schools across America.
Teenagers look forward to prom and school dinner, but a solemn shadow hangs over their celebrations as they remember the day of the shooting.
lily said NBC news: ‘You’ve been waiting for this day your whole life since you were in kindergarten. You just can’t wait to graduate. And it felt so far away for so long… but I think we can’t forget (the fact) that a big part of our class is missing.
“And so, as we get to graduation, we all have mixed emotions: We try to be excited for ourselves and for this accomplishment that we’ve worked so hard for, but also for those who can’t share it with us, who should have been.” ,’ she added.
During their graduation on Wednesday, the names of their deceased classmates were read aloud in a moving tribute, which highlighted that they, too, should receive their diplomas on stage.
“We remember his 20 classmates who were tragically lost on December 14, 2012 and who will not cross the stage tonight.” Director Kimberly Longobucco saying.
Graduates of Newtown High School’s Class of 2024 throw their caps in the air as they conclude their graduation ceremony in Newtown on Wednesday. 60 graduates were among those who survived the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012. The names of the 20 students killed were read aloud in a moving tribute.
The survivors were between seven and eight years old when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
‘We remember them for their bravery, their kindness and their spirit. Let us strive to honor them today and every day.’
The class of 335 graduates pinned green ribbons emblazoned with the legend “Forever in Our Hearts” on their dresses.
The lives of Sandy Hook survivors have been indelibly marked by one of the deadliest shootings in the United States.
One survivor, Grace, spoke to ABC about how she remembers her teacher reading her a story before Lanza opened fire on the school.
“Before we hid in the cubicles, the loudspeaker went off,” he told the cameras.
Emma Ehrens says she watched her classmates and teachers die the day of the deadly school shooting
Ella Seaver was interviewed as a child after surviving the 2012 shooting 12 years ago.
Matt, a former Sandy Hook student who was present the day of the school shooting, has said he feels hopeless about gun control laws in the United States.
Henry Terifay told ABC’s GMA: “I really thought Sandy Hook would, you know, shock people and wake everyone up… But it keeps happening over and over again.”
“This was probably the most traumatizing part of the whole thing,” he said as he recalled that the school principal had told the children to hide before they heard a “bang.”
Lily added that she realized they were in danger “because our teachers were so concerned about keeping their voices down.”
“It was definitely a strange situation, between knowing something was wrong but not knowing how bad it was.”
In a separate interview with NBC News, Emma talked about the moment Lanza barged into her classroom in Sandy Hook.
She said, “I had to watch all my friends and teachers get killed and I had to run for my life when I was six,” she said, before adding that she had to grow up with “the fear and what-ifs of what It could have happened if I had stayed. Because I was going to be next.’
Teenagers lament how little has changed since the Sandy Hook shooting and how the same tragic story continues to repeat itself in schools across America.
Sandy Hook survivors attended a rally against gun violence last Friday in Newtown.
Emma Ehrens (center), a survivor of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, speaks alongside other survivors during a rally against gun violence last week.
In fact, school shootings have skyrocketed, with more than 1,600 reported nationwide since 2012, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.
“I really thought Sandy Hook would, you know, surprise people and wake everyone up,” Henry told ABC’s GMA. “But it keeps happening over and over and over again.”
Matt added that the situation seemed “hopeless.”
‘The friends, the family that were lost that day, the smiling faces that should fill the seats in your classroom, the parents that should be able to see their children graduate, get married, children will never be able to hug their parents again. . “This never ends,” she stated.
Lilly said she worries about her future children.
“As unfortunate as it is, it’s going to happen to someone else and it will continue to happen to someone else until people like us have to make the change,” he said.
“We’re worried about the day we have kids, and I don’t want to send them to school like our world is.”
