Sandy Hook shooting survivors have graduated high school without 20 of their classmates.
Members of Newtown High School’s class of 2024 will leave with the same mix of bittersweet feelings and excitement as many of their peers do when graduating high school in the US.
However, 60 of the 300-plus cohort of kids in Newtown, Connecticut, who graduated on Wednesday will also carry the burden from surviving one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
They walked across the stage, knowing 20 of their classmates would not be able to join them.
On 14 December 2012, Adam Lanza shot his mum, took her guns and drove to the nearby school with them.
There he murdered 20 children, all in the first grade – aged six or seven, and six adults, including four teachers and the principal.
As police arrived at the school, Lanza then killed himself.
Prominent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay almost a billion dollars to victims of the shooting and their families after he claimed the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax that had been staged by gun control activists using actors.
More than a decade on from the massacre, the survivors of the attack celebrated their graduation, with victims honoured during the ceremony with a moment of silence.
The school’s principal Kimberly Longobucco read out the names of the young kids who were killed as the class of 2024 looked on, wearing green-and-white ribbons in remembrance of the victims.
She said: “We remember your 20 classmates who were tragically lost on December 14, 2012, who will not walk across the stage tonight.
“We remember them for their bravery, their kindness and their spirit.
“Let us strive to honour them today and every day.”
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Five of the survivors discussed their feelings about graduating before they walked across the stage.
They had all been active in Junior Newtown Action Alliance and its anti-gun violence efforts – with the national conversation around gun control reignited following the attack.
Emma Ehrens was one of 11 children from Classroom 10 to survive the attack.
She and other students were able to flee when the gunman paused to reload and another student, Jesse Lewis, yelled for everyone to run.
Jesse was one of five kids killed in the room, along with two teachers.
Ms Ehrens said: “I am definitely going be feeling a lot of mixed emotions. I’m super excited to be, like, done with high school and moving on to the next chapter of my life.
“But I’m also so… mournful, I guess, to have to be walking across that stage alone … I like to think that they’ll be there with us and walking across that stage with us.”
But she added she was looking forward to the opportunities that came with moving on, and no longer being “the Sandy Hook kid”.
Grace Fisher was in a classroom down the hall from the killings and said that despite efforts to have a normal childhood following the massacre, “it wasn’t totally normal”.
She added they were missing “such a big chunk of our class” for their graduation.
Many of the survivors of the shooting have said they continue to live with the trauma of the day.
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Matt Holden, 17, said: “In Sandy Hook, what happened is always kind of looming over us.”
A number of the survivors said that their experience with the attack has informed their plans going forward, and into college.
Ella Seaver said she is going to study psychology and become a therapist as a way of giving back.
Ms Seaver said: “It’s a way to feel like you’re doing something. Because we are. We’re fighting for change and we’re really not going to stop until we get it.”
Others, like Ms Ehrens and Mr Holden, want to work in politics to effect policy and laws.
Mel Gibson says there is “nothing left” of his Hollywood home following the LA wildfires and “someone should answer” for the devastation.
The Braveheart star was with podcaster Joe Rogan when the flames engulfed his Malibu mansion and said he was a “little tense” while recording their discussion.
But he knew his family were “out of harm’s way” and a few “necessary things” such as passports were saved.
The loss of his home and others is “tragic”, however, and it “makes you really sad”, he added.
While describing lost items as “only things”, he said they included “works of art, photographs, [and] rare books”, some of them dating back to 1600.
Regarding the conduct of the authorities, he told Fox News: “Apparently, some people were asleep on the job, mainly our leaders.
“That’s something they have to live with. Kids are traumatised. Someone should answer for it.”
Asked if he had a message for California governor Gavin Newsom, or Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, he commented: “Spend less on hair gel.”
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1:29
Celebrities’ homes have burned down in the LA fires
At least 16 people have been killed in the blazes, with more than 100,000 asked to evacuate their homes.
The fires have affected multiple celebrities, ripping through exclusive suburbs in southern California, home to film stars and billionaires.
Legendary British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has reportedly lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire.
The star – perhaps best known for his performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs – posted a message on Instagram, in which he said: “As we all struggle to heal from the devastation of these fires, it’s important we remember that the only thing we take with us is the love we give.”
The mother of British child star Rory Sykes, 32, has confirmed her son died in the Pacific Palisades fire.
Sykes appeared in TV programme Kiddy Kapers in the 1990s.
Shelley Sykes said her “beautiful son” was “born blind with cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking” but had overcome “so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk”.
Paris Hilton, meanwhile, says her “heart shattered into a million pieces” after visiting the charred remains of her Malibu beach house.
Describing herself as “in complete shock”, the hotel heiress said seeing her family memories “reduced to ashes” was “devastating”.
Hilton, 43, said she watched her home burn to the ground on TV – and shared a video on social media from inside the gutted structure.
She said she was grateful to be safe along with her husband Carter Reum and their two children, Phoenix and London, but was still devastated.
She wrote on Instagram: “I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.
“When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock – I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.”
She has lived in the multi-million-pound property for three years.
Hilton added: “This house wasn’t just a place to live – it was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family.
“It was where [son] Phoenix’s little hands made art that I’ll cherish forever, where love and life filled every corner. To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words.
“What breaks my heart even more is knowing that this isn’t just my story. So many people have lost everything. It’s not just walls and roofs – it’s the memories that made those houses homes. It’s the photos, the keepsakes, the irreplaceable pieces of our lives.”
She described herself as “incredibly lucky”, adding: “My loved ones – my babies – and my pets are safe. That’s the most important thing”.
She thanked the firefighters, first responders and volunteers who she said were “all risking their lives” to help, adding: “Even in the ashes, there is still beauty in this world.”
Presenter Ricki Lake said she and her husband Ross had lost their “dream home” and their “heaven on earth”.
She said on Instagram: “We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved Malibu for granted, not even for one second.
“This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married three years ago. I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event.”
The ancestral home of Big Lebowski actor Jeff Bridges is also understood to have been destroyed.
The four-bedroom home, which had been in the Bridges family for generations, was inherited by Bridges and his two siblings in 2018 according to the Los Angeles Times.
Tina Knowles, mother of singer Beyonce, has also lost a house she owned in Malibu to the fires.
She shared a short video of dolphins playing in the sea on Instagram, writing: “This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend from my tiny little bungalow on the water in Malibu! It was my favourite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone!!”
She went on to thank the fire department and first responders and offered condolences to others affected by the fires.
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Take That star Mark Owen and his family were evacuated from their home, his wife Emma Ferguson describing them waking to “helicopters, thick black smoke and winds howling”.
She said that while she was grateful her family was safe, it was “exhausting” to be “constantly looking online to see if your house is gone”.
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1:04
Steve Guttenberg: ‘I’ve seen such tragedy’
Actor Steve Guttenberg, best known for his role in the Police Academy film franchise, has called the fires “absolutely the worst” he has ever seen and has been doing what he can to help distressed residents.
Other stars to have lost their homes in the fires include Billy Crystal, Miles Teller, Diane Warren, Cary Elwes, Milo Ventimiglia, Anna Faris, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
On Friday, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammy Awards, and charity MusiCares pledged $1m (£813,000) to support music artists affected by the fires.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged the same amount to fire relief efforts from her family foundation.
Mel Gibson says there is “nothing left” of his Hollywood home following the LA wildfires and “someone should answer” for the devastation.
The Braveheart star was with podcaster Joe Rogan when the flames engulfed his Malibu mansion and said he was a “little tense” while recording their discussion.
But he knew his family were “out of harm’s way” and a few “necessary things” such as passports had been saved.
But the loss of his home and others is “tragic” and it “makes you really sad”, he added.
While describing lost items as “only things”, he said they included “works of art, photographs, [and] rare books”, some of them dating back to 1600.
Regarding the conduct of the authorities, he told Fox News: “Apparently, some people were asleep on the job, mainly our leaders.
“That’s something they have to live with. Kids are traumatised. Someone should answer for it.”
Asked if he had a message for California governor Gavin Newsom, or Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, he commented: “Spend less on hair gel.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:29
Celebrities’ homes have burned down in the LA fires
At least 16 people have been killed in the blazes, with more than 100,000 asked to evacuate their homes.
The fires have affected multiple celebrities, ripping through exclusive suburbs in southern California, home to film stars and billionaires.
Legendary British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has reportedly lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire.
The star – perhaps best known for his performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs – posted a message on Instagram, in which he said: “As we all struggle to heal from the devastation of these fires, it’s important we remember that the only thing we take with us is the love we give.”
The mother of British child star Rory Sykes, 32, has confirmed her son died in the Pacific Palisades fire.
Sykes appeared in TV programme Kiddy Kapers in the 1990s.
Shelley Sykes said her “beautiful son” was “born blind with cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking” but had overcome “so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk”.
Paris Hilton, meanwhile, says her “heart shattered into a million pieces” after visiting the charred remains of her Malibu beach house.
Describing herself as “in complete shock”, the hotel heiress said seeing her family memories “reduced to ashes” was “devastating”.
Hilton, 43, said she watched her home burn to the ground on TV – and shared a video on social media from inside the gutted structure.
She said she was grateful to be safe along with her husband Carter Reum and their two children, Phoenix and London, but was still devastated.
She wrote on Instagram: “I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.
“When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock – I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.”
She has lived in the multi-million-pound property for three years.
Hilton added: “This house wasn’t just a place to live – it was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family.
“It was where [son] Phoenix’s little hands made art that I’ll cherish forever, where love and life filled every corner. To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words.
“What breaks my heart even more is knowing that this isn’t just my story. So many people have lost everything. It’s not just walls and roofs – it’s the memories that made those houses homes. It’s the photos, the keepsakes, the irreplaceable pieces of our lives.”
She described herself as “incredibly lucky”, adding: “My loved ones – my babies – and my pets are safe. That’s the most important thing”.
She thanked the firefighters, first responders and volunteers who she said were “all risking their lives” to help, adding: “Even in the ashes, there is still beauty in this world.”
Presenter Ricki Lake said she and her husband Ross had lost their “dream home” and their “heaven on earth”.
She said on Instagram: “We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved Malibu for granted, not even for one second.
“This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married three years ago. I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event.”
The ancestral home of Big Lebowski actor Jeff Bridges is also understood to have been destroyed.
The four-bedroom home, which had been in the Bridges family for generations, was inherited by Bridges and his two siblings in 2018 according to the Los Angeles Times.
Tina Knowles, mother of singer Beyonce, has also lost a house she owned in Malibu to the fires.
She shared a short video of dolphins playing in the sea on Instagram, writing: “This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend from my tiny little bungalow on the water in Malibu! It was my favourite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone!!”
She went on to thank the fire department and first responders and offered condolences to others affected by the fires.
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Take That star Mark Owen and his family were evacuated from their home, his wife Emma Ferguson describing them waking to “helicopters, thick black smoke and winds howling”.
She said that while she was grateful her family was safe, it was “exhausting” to be “constantly looking online to see if your house is gone”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:04
Steve Guttenberg: ‘I’ve seen such tragedy’
Actor Steve Guttenberg, best known for his role in the Police Academy film franchise, has called the fires “absolutely the worst” he has ever seen and has been doing what he can to help distressed residents.
Other stars to have lost their homes in the fires include Billy Crystal, Miles Teller, Diane Warren, Cary Elwes, Milo Ventimiglia, Anna Faris, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
On Friday, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammy Awards, and charity MusiCares pledged $1m (£813,000) to support music artists affected by the fires.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged the same amount to fire relief efforts from her family foundation.