A group of students who survived the Sandy Hook shooting honored their late classmates at their high school graduation.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre took place on December 14th, 2012, after Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old gunman, stormed the small elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
The shooter murdered his own mother Nancy, 52, at home before taking her car and driving to the school with an AR-15.
He fired over 150 rounds of ammunition in less than five minutes, claiming the lives of 20 students, who were aged between six and seven years old, and six staff members.
The massacre is the second deadliest school shooting in US history, behind the Virginia Tech University massacre in 2007, which left 32 dead.
Twelve years on from the events of December 2012, 60 of the survivors - who were in first grade at the time of the shooting - are preparing to begin their adult lives after graduating from Newtown High School.
The students dressed in gowns for the ceremony, adding green and white ribbons inscribed with the message "Forever In Our Hearts" in tribute to their fallen classmates, per CNN.
They also honored the 20 victims by reading their names aloud before observing a moment of silence. Seats were also reportedly left empty.
Before their graduation, the seniors reflected on the complex emotions surrounding the milestone.
Survivor, Lilly Wasilnak, told CBS News: "I mean, you wait for this day for your whole life, since you're in kindergarten. You just can't wait to graduate. And it felt so far away for such a long time.
"But like now it's here and you're ready, but I think we can't forget about that there is a whole chunk of our class missing," she continued. "So even going to prom, you think, well, what if they were my prom date? Or, you know, what if they were my significant other? What if they were able to walk the stage with me."
Emma Ehrens, who ran from her classroom where her teacher and friends were killed when the gunman’s rifle jammed, said that the ceremony "is not even about me," adding: "I know it should be, but personally I can’t think about anything other than the fact that they’re not graduating."
A number of the survivors have volunteered for gun control groups and several met Vice-President Kamala Harris at the White House last week for National Gun Violence Prevention Day.
While they are using their traumatic experience to make positive changes, the horrendous memory of the deadly day still haunts them.
“The tragedy never ends,” Matt Holden, who was six at the time of the shooting, told Good Morning America. “The friends, family who were lost that day, the smiling faces that should be filling the seats in your classroom, the parents who should be able to watch their kids graduate, get married, the kids will never be able to hug their parents again. It’s never over.”
Ella Seaver, who was seven at the time of the shooting, said if she could see one change in gun reform it would be to establish "regulations on AR-style assault weapons," per ABC 7.
"I think one of the hardest things is getting people to see eye-to-eye on it," she added. "And I think that stops a lot of regulations and legislation, which unfortunately is costing more and more lives every day."
Our thoughts continue to be with everyone affected by this senseless tragedy.
