NEWTOWN, Conn. — Wednesday will mark 10 years since 26 people were killed in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. 20 students and 6 staff members lost their lives that day.
It's been a day that will always feel like yesterday for Monsignor Robert Weiss of St. Rose of Lima.
"For those of us that were here, whether it's 10 years, 20 years, or yesterday, it’s all still the same memory. It’s one of those things you knew exactly what you were doing, where you were," he said.
The church will hold a mass Wednesday on the anniversary. Monday night, they hosted a free concert to give people a place to clear their minds and relax. The memorial concert featured a string quartet including local performers and some from out-of-state. The monsignor said a man reached out from Philadelphia who wanted to do something for Newtown and thought now would be the time.
"It’s still very emotional for me. I haven’t talked about it as much as I have in the last few weeks and I still feel the sadness. I still fill up with tears. I don’t think there’s been any real closure to this. We live in the midst of it every day. You can’t help but think about the children. You can’t help but think about their families," the monsignor said.
Southbury's Ardele Carvis has attended memorial services for the past decade. She was decorating her Christmas tree on December 14th, 2012. Even though that was 10 years ago, she said it feels far away but close by at the same time.
"When I heard it, we just couldn’t believe it because things don’t happen in this nice, quiet town," she said. "The community has not forgotten and the community really wants to fight against gun control."
A memorial opened near Sandy Hook Elementary in November. When the leaves are off the trees, the rebuilt school is visible. The building opened in 2016 on the previous school's property.
White roses lay on the names of the victims. FOX61 spoke with a Newtown couple visiting the memorial for the first time who said it's hard to put into words how they are feeling.
Carvis said she has participated in marches against gun violence since the tragedy shook her home. She's saddened to hear the mass shootings continue as she hoped this would have been the last of its kind.
"This community, I think, is very special because it’s not filled with anger. It’s filled with sadness and let’s change things," she said.
Monsignor Weiss said what happened in 2012 doesn't define Newtown nor change its values. He said the community is still healing spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
"We all live with this naïve idea that this will never happen here, but it did and we have to live with that," he said. "I think the town has demonstrated tremendous resiliency. People really bonded themselves together to affect some kind of healing."
Governor Ned Lamont released a statement Monday calling on lawmakers to take more action against gun violence, adding not enough has been done since the 2012 Connecticut shooting.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans support sensible measures on gun safety, and while we’ve implemented many commonsense reforms in Connecticut, time and again we’ve seen the influence of powerful lobbyists from the NRA blocking these actions in Congress,” he wrote. “I am proud that Connecticut is leading on gun violence prevention, but the fact of the matter is that guns are crossing state borders every single day, and a patchwork of gun safety laws in each individual state is not the solution."
The governor said he plans to announce a proposal in the 2023 regular session to close loopholes in the assault weapons ban and make it easier for police to confiscate dangerous ghost guns, among other things.
FOX61 will air 'Sandy Hook Strong - 10 Years Later at 7 p.m. Wednesday, honoring the victims and looking into what has happened since their deaths.
Tony Black is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tblack@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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