In the horror of the Aurora, Colorado, shooting massacre, a tale of heroism: Thirteen-year-old Kaylan struggled to save the life of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan – the youngest person to die. John Blackstone of CBS news covered her story..
Authorities said the gunman might have killed more if his assault rifle had not jammed. And he might have been mistaken for a SWAT officer by arriving police, had not one officer spotted something odd in his body armor.
But these details did not answer the searching questions of the first memorial events.
“Why did this senseless act of violence happen?” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan asked, facing families of the dead and thousands of people standing behind them. “It may be impossible to arrive at an explanation that would make sense to us.”
Holmes, being held without bond at the Arapahoe County jail, is scheduled to appear in court for the first time Monday.
At the memorial service, an array of speakers struggled to explain what had caused the attack. A Catholic bishop used the word “evil” six times.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) did not even want to try. “I refuse to say his name,” he said, to the loudest applause of the night. He sought to turn the attention to victims instead, reading their names and asking the crowd to remember them. At some names, family members cheered. Others brought cries of grief.
The scope of the tragedy was brought home at the end of the night The crowd was supposed to sing “Amazing Grace” as families of the dead filed out. But the song ended, and the families were still walking.
“Let’s do the first verse again, ‘Amazing Grace,’ ” an emcee said. The crowd sang it again, then again. Then another time, just humming and repeating “praise God” until the last of the family members had left the plaza.