Friday is the 6th anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, a massacre that took the lives of 20 children and six educators in 2012.
Related: Sandy Hook Promise releases new school shooting awareness Public Service Announcement
The lives lost will continue to be remembered, friends and family alike.
7-year-old Daniel was one of the children killed 6 years ago.
His dad continues to remember and honor him. The father says he remembers everything that led up to the Friday when his son was killed.
“It is a process and its a continuous process of missing my Daniel and continuing to have to recognize the fact that he was taken away from us in such a horrible and violent way,” Mark Barden, father of Daniel, says.
Barden is also a part of Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit organization with a mission to prevent gun-related deaths so that no other parent experiences the tragedy of the Sandy Hook shooting.
Sandy Hook Promise recently released a PSA about how to prevent gun violence.
To honor the lives taken, a vigil is set to take place at 7 p.m. in Newtown at the Congregation Adath Israel. All are invited to the vigil.
Related: CCSU is hosting the ‘Love Wins’ community drive on Friday
Additionally, the Fairfield police will increase their presence in the Fairfield district on Friday as a precaution for the 6th anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting.
Police say this is not in responses to any threat, but rather just an added cautionary step for safety.
They will be driving through school parking lots and performing checks throughout the day.
On Friday morning, Senator Chris Murphy issued the following statement in remembrance.
Today is an awful day. I’ll think a lot about my youngest son, who went off to his first grade classroom this morning, as I remember the precious children and brave educators whose lives were unimaginably taken six years ago.
I’ve had the honor of representing, and becoming friends with, many of the families of the victims,” said Murphy. “Nothing we do can ever bring those kids back, but we should be inspired by Newtown’s efforts to make the world a kinder, more loving place. We can reach out to one another and help those in need. This morning, I’m delivering meals to families in need in New Haven. I hope everyone takes some time to do their own act of kindness – big or small – in their communities.
We will never stop remembering, and honoring, and fighting for the lives senseless lost six years ago. We have to keep going. For me, that means I will never give up trying to change our broken gun laws to keep our kids safe from gun violence. A national movement for stronger gun laws started six years ago today, and today I feel more confident than ever before that Congress will listen and act on changing our gun laws next year. We would not be here without the voices of so many of the family members from Newtown who want us to honor their loved ones with action.”
