Theater Shooting Memorial Held At New Monument
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The Aurora community will hold a candlelight vigil to remember the 6th anniversary of the deadly theater shooting, and for the first time, they'll gather at a memorial for the victims.
The installation is called "Ascentiate", and it features 83 cranes representing the victims and survivors of the July 20, 2012 mass shooting. Thirteen of the cranes are translucent to honor those who's lives were taken.
Internationally renowned sculptor, Douwe Blumberg, designed the memorial. He said that he didn't want to design something that focused on what happened that night, but wanted to create a piece to represent what's happened since, a community rising up and coming together.
People will begin gathering for the annual vigil at 11:30 p.m. in the reflection garden. First responders will begin their annual procession at some point after midnight with the end of their procession being near the entrance to the garden.
This year those in attendance will be grieving another loss.
"For us not having Mayor Hogan at the vigil this year, that's going to be really hard too, because he was a huge part of this. He was the reason the foundation is in place. And not to have him here in person to be with us and say a few words is going to be different. But we all fee like he's here in a different, bigger way and we know that he's here looking down on us and he'll share in this moment in our hearts in a different way," said Heather Dearman of the 7/20 Memorial Foundation.
Mayor Steve Hogan lost his battle with cancer in May. He was a key leader in the wake of the theater shooting, and a driving force behind the memorial.
The 7/20 Memorial Foundation is made up of family of victims, survivors and others directly impacted by the tragedy. They've worked for years to raise the money and find an appropriate memorial for this tragedy.
AURORA THEATER SHOOTING: Story Archive | Timeline | Remembering The Victims