Today marks 6 years since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“As a teacher you were just in shock that it was happening,” said Lisa Lombardi, who teaches at Rebecca Johnson School.
A group of teachers from the Rebecca Johnson School walked from Springfield City Hall to the Memorial Bridge. This is something they’ve done every year since 26 students and teachers were killed at Sandy Hook.
“We all felt it unbelievably,” said Roni Gold, a teacher at Rebecca Johnson. “We know those were our colleagues and it could have been our students.”
The group walked to the middle of the Memorial Bridge with flowers in hand to pay tribute to the 26 victims. The teachers tossed 26 flowers off the Memorial Bridge: 20 representing the students killed, and 6 representing the teachers.
“The river, it’s a symbol of connection for us,” explained Gold. “It connects us to Connecticut, it connects us to Newtown.”
In Newtown on Friday, police said a bomb threat forced Sandy Hook to be evacuated and students were sent home early. Teachers here in western Massachusetts told 22News threats like this are scary, but schools prepare for situations during lockdown drills.
“We can’t just assume nothing would ever happen in the building, so I think just that preparation is important to ensure that the students feel safe when they come to school,” said Lombardi.
