Sandy Hook Survivors Graduate High School
12 years after the tragic shooting that claimed the lives of 20 of their classmates at Sandy Hook Elementary, the survivors have graduated from high school.
On December 14, 2012, a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman killed six adult staff members and 20 students (between the ages of six and seven) before taking his own life.
The victims were:
Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Rachel D’Avino, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Dylan Hockley, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, Ana Marquez-Greene, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Anne Marie Murphy, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt.
The victims were remembered during the Newtown High School graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 12. Their names were read out loud during the ceremony, and the graduates wore green ribbons that read “Forever in Our Hearts.”
Survivor Lilly Wasilnak told PEOPLE, “To graduate and miss 20 kids out of your class, there’s no way to go about it without remembering them.”
Surviving Students Reflect On Their Graduation
Another survivor, Ella Seaver, also spoke with PEOPLE before graduation. Seaver, who was two classrooms away from the classrooms that were attacked, told the publication:
“A lot of it has been like, ‘Oh my God, you’re graduating high school, this is kind of a monumental moment in your life,’ but it always kind of has that touch of sorrow when you realize what’s missing,”
Sandy Hook’s Surviving 1st Graders Graduate High School: ‘Monumental’ but Tinged with ‘Sorrow’ https://t.co/CNKNWW2KV6
— People (@people) June 12, 2024
RELATED: TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR’S “IDOL” AUDITION EARNS EMOTIONAL RESPONSE FROM JUDGES
Wasilnak, who was in the same class as Seaver, said, “I think it’s hard to exactly know what changed, because for me, this is all I’ve ever known.”
The graduation ceremony was closed to the press. But PEOPLE did obtain a few photos from the ceremony, which you can see here.
Before graduation, some of the survivors also sat down for a conversation with ABC News. You can watch the video below.