Sandy Hook Anniversary: Remembering The Tragedy That Stole The Lives Of Innocent Children In Newtown

Sandy Hook Anniversary - It has been two years since the Sandy Hook tragedy stole the lives of 20 children and 6 educators in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The heartbreaking and tragic shooting incident on December 2012 was the worst school shooting in United States history.

The Sandy Hook anniversary is just four days away but as the Newtown residents look back to the tragic incident, anger and sadness dwell on. On Dec. 14, 2012, a deranged and heavily armed man blasted his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and killed 20 children and 6 teachers before killing himself. In the tragedy, the gunman did not only took lives but also the innocence of a school of children.

"We only refer to the day as "12/14." And we don't speak of that man - in fact, I never speak or write his name..." Sarah Walker Caron, whose son was a Sandy Hook survivor, wrote in her BDN Maine article.

Looking back as the Sandy Hook second anniversary comes, the Sandy Hook community was one of the quietest of small towns with a few good restaurants, a deli, a toy and liquor store but not much else. While its school had bubbly educators blessed with a silly streak and a passion for education.  

The Sandy Hook massacre did not only shook the town's residence but the whole United States and the world. And reminiscing the tragic events would never be easy for residents and survivors of the incident. But as a look back, security might had been an issue when the shooting transpired.

Security is supposed to alleviate fear, not create it. Visible security in a high-risk community can surely be reassuring however when a significant threat is absent, tight security projects a feeling of looming danger. And as we arrive at the second anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, USA Today reported that US school officials are often all too quick to push such measures onto the children in terms of over-securing schools against the threat of a shooting.

When the 2016 school year starts, Wired magazine reported students and faculty will return to Sandy Hook Elementary school, which was demolished almost a year after the shooting, for the first time. They will return to a new building and landscape equipped with intense and invisible security systems.

Meanwhile as Sunday marks the second anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, The Huffington Post reported community organizers and gun control groups have planned a number of vigils and memorials across the nation to commemorate the occasion.

"What we are asking Americans to do is to perform an act of kindness to honor the victims we lost, as well as in honor of all victims of gun violence,'' Newtown Action Alliance and Newtown Foundation chairman Po Murray said.  

To commemorate the Sandy Hook anniversary, the organization will stage its second annual anti-gun violence vigil in Washington, D.C. According to News Times, the national vigil will be the central point of over 200 other events to be held in 36 states and in Mexico.

As the Sandy Hook anniversary comes close, the survivors' recovery and healing will never be a destination instead a journey to keep moving forward fearlessly because each day is a precious gift of survival from the tragic massacre.

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