Boston to Hold Candlelight Vigil Honoring Sandy Hook Anniversary

Photo via AP

Wednesday marks four years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and Boston will honor the victims of the tragedy with a candlelight vigil.

Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed his 52-year-old mother before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary School and shooting his way inside, killing 20 first-graders and six school employees before committing suicide. The December 14, 2012 massacre was the third-deadliest mass shooting by a single person in U.S. history.

The town of Newtown observed a 15-minute moment of silence between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m., marking the time when the shooting occurred. Town employees were asked to refrain from work during that time to honor those lost.

Wednesday’s vigil in Boston is part of a nationwide demonstration “in remembrance of the 120,000 victims of gun violence in America.” Attorney General Maura Healey, who has made gun violence a focus of her first term, is among the elected officials expected to attend.

The vigil begins at 6:15 p.m. at the First Church on Marlborough Street in the Back Bay.