AURORA, Colo. — Thirteen years since the Aurora mass shooting inside the former Century 16 movie theater, the community continues to come together to honor the 12 people who lost their lives through a candlelight vigil.
Outside the Aurora Municipal Center, 12 crosses were placed with photographs of the victims along with messages left behind by the community. There was also a display of seventy cranes honoring those who were injured in this tragedy.
Hearther Dearman, CEO of the 7/20 Memorial Foundation, explained the immense impact of this traumatic day on the entire community and the ripple effect it has caused.
"We do it every year because we know every year someone will come to the vigil who was affected and it's their first time here," explained Dearman. "They weren't ready back then, and they weren't ready to be a part of this. But they are now. And that's why we want to do this and keep on doing this, so that we can welcome those people and show that our community is still strong."
Having this special vigil and feeling the support of the community is of immense help to Dearman, who is still healing from this day. She continues on a grieving journey, as her family continues to process what happened.
"My cousin was in the theater and she was permanently injured and she also lost her unborn child, and our sweet, her sweet little daughter, six-year-old Veronica. She was so bubbly and so kind and happy all the time," Dearman said.
Tiina Marie Coon, secretary of the 7/20 Memorial Foundation, also feels the immense impact of this tragedy as her son was inside the theater at the time of the shooting. While he was not physically injured, Coon explained the mental challenges the family has felt since.
"I think that the healing will never end," said Coon. "We should never forget, and hopefully, we're hoping that could lead to less mass shootings happening. However, that hasn't been the case, and that's why we still feel the need to be here. We still need to learn about how to prevent mass shootings, how to spread kindness and love."
Cranes are also on display, which carry immense meaning, as Dearman explained. One thousand cranes were received following the tragedy thanks to a boy in O'Fallon, Missouri. Now, those in attendance at the candlelight vigil can feel the greater meaning of these paper cranes.
"They are for each one injured, and they're named and they're alphabetical and they're gold tips," said Coon. "Each one of them has a cut in their wing because these are the ones who are wounded, and we made these in memory of the one who made them out of wax paper."
While Dearman continues to feel the heartache from that day, she also remembers the greater message she can help share with the community of kindness and love.
"It just taught me a lesson, is that that's how we should be to one another, and so I wanted to be involved with the memorial because I know I was wanting to make sure something was being done to remember Veronica," said Dearman. "Not only that, but just to prove to my children, because they were so scared and terrified when that happened, that there is more love in the world than hate."
Now, 13 years later, Dearman hopes people will remember the power of one small act of kindness and the ripple effect of love as "love wins always."
A special blood drive will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., hosted by Vitalant. This event will take place in the parking lot of Cinemark Century Aurora and XD, located at 14300 E. Alameda Avenue. Donors can make appointments online and can find details about donating blood here.
A Day of Resilience is taking place on July 26, organized by the 7/20 Memorial Foundation. The day begins around 7:30 a.m., featuring DJ Sinna-G and Yoga Six. Then, at 8:00 a.m., there will be the 5th annual "The Hero’s Journey" 5K Run/Walk. Details can be found here.
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These are the lives lost that we continue to remember today:
AJ (Alexander) Boik. AJ had just graduated from Gateway High School, where he played baseball, said a family friend. Boik had planned on attending the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in the fall. His dream was to become an art teacher and open his own studio, his family said.
Jonathan Blunk. The father of two served three tours in the Persian Gulf and the North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009, a close friend, James Gill of Brighton, Colorado, told the Associated Press. He had high hopes for his future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy SEAL. He died in the shooting after he pushed his girlfriend, Jansen Young, under the theater seat, saving her life.
Jesse Childress, 29, was a staff sergeant at Buckley Space Force Base and worked as a cyber-systems operator. Friends said he spent nearly every day of the week playing sports — softball on Mondays, bowling on Tuesdays, according to the Denver Post. Childress loved comics and superhero movies. He had recently bought a black Scion — a car he nicknamed the "Batmobile."
Gordon Cowden. Gordon loved life and his family. He went to the midnight movie premiere with his two teenage children. The father of four, who lived in Aurora, was described as a "true Texas gentleman" in a family statement. He loved the outdoors and owned his own business. Cowden's teenage children escaped the shooting unharmed.
Micayla Medek, 23, was saving money for a trip to India. She was working at Subway and attended Aurora Community College. Her father, Greg Medek, told the Los Angeles Times that Micayla loved Hello Kitty, hot pink, and Beanie Babies. At her funeral service, mourners wore pink ribbons, some with Hello Kitty faces on them, in honor of her fondness for the color and the character.
Matt McQuinn died trying to protect his girlfriend. As the gunman opened fire, McQuinn dove on top of Samantha Yowler. McQuinn's stepfather, David Jackson, told the Dayton Daily News that McQuinn was a hero. Yowler was injured in the leg, a family spokesman said. McQuinn, a 27-year-old Ohio native, had moved to Colorado just a few months earlier.
Jessica Ghawi was a journalist and blogger who also went by the name Jessica Redfield. Ghawi had recently moved to Denver from San Antonio, Texas, to pursue her dream of becoming a sportscaster. "She had a huge heart," Ghawi's mother, Sandy Phillips, said. "Cared deeply for other people." A few months earlier, Ghawi was visiting Toronto with her boyfriend, a minor league hockey player, when they narrowly escaped a deadly shooting in the city's main downtown mall.
Veronica Moser Sullivan, 6, went to see the Batman movie with her mother, Ashley Moser, 25. Veronica died from her injuries. Ashley was left in critical condition, with gunshot wounds to her neck and abdomen. She was paralyzed below the waist. "(Veronica was) a vibrant little girl ... just was bragging about learning how to swim on Tuesday," Annie Dalton, Ashley's aunt, said.
Alex Sullivan was at the midnight showing of the new Batman movie as part of his birthday celebration. "#TheDarkKnightRises OMG COUNTING down till it start can't wait going to be the best birthday ever," Sullivan wrote on Facebook. His family called him "their real-life superhero. Alex was smart, funny, and above all loved dearly by his friends and family," the family statement said.
Alex Teves, 24, was originally from Arizona but had been living in the Denver area since graduating from the University of Denver. Teves' father, Tom Teves, told ABC News that his son had blocked a bullet from hitting his girlfriend when he was himself shot and killed. His father said Alex would do anything to save his girlfriend.
Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32, was a devoted mother who always sat in the front row at church. Shannon Dominguez, who worked with Wingo on weekends, said she was friendly with everyone and always seemed to be in a good mood. "She had a really bubbly personality," Dominguez said. "She was a pretty happy person. She just never really seemed ... like with work, she never got irritated. She was pretty happy to be here."
