Saturday, which marked the seventh anniversary of the tragedy, was no exception.
“...on December 14 each year, the loss hurts more. It just does,” Sen. Chris Murphy said in a statement that revisits the final morning that seven-year-old Daniel Barden spent at home.
Barden was one of 20 children and six adults killed when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Dec. 14, 2012.
"Seven years ago today, a little seven year old boy woke up earlier than he ever had before during his first grade year,” the statement reads.
Murphy describes a boy who paid special attention to his family that day, one who was able to say goodbye to his siblings and mother as they left the house because he woke up earlier than usual.
“Daniel Barden didn't come home on the bus that day... But what he did that morning-run down the driveway to say goodbye to his brother, hug his mother and sister, cuddle and hold hands with his dad, are perhaps the most important things he ever did in his life,” Murphy’s statement says.
The senator goes on to speculate whether Barden’s unusually early rise that day might not have been a coincidence, since it became the last day he spent with his family.
If it’s not a coincidence, Murphy continues, “maybe it's an intentional reminder from a higher power of the capacity that we all have, inside us, to do small things each and every day—kind words, easy compliments, small favors, hugs—that provide a gift to the recipient so much bigger than the effort required to do the deed. Daniel reminds us that for all the big, scary, seemingly insurmountable things that we worry and obsess over each day, there are so many small gestures that we can make, all totally within our control, that can change the world in unexpected ways.”
Other statements from across the state reflected on the seventh anniversary of the shooting, calling on folks to remember the lives lost.
“Hard to believe it's been 7 years. But, we remember and we will never forget,” Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury said in a Tweet .
“Our hearts and prayers are with the families of those affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School seven years ago today. Please take a moment to remember not only the 20 children and six educators who died on 12-14-2012, but the many others touched by this tragedy,” a Tweet from CT State Police said.
Some emphasized the need for further gun reform.
“I have also continued to call for funding for gun violence prevention research, as well as a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines...We have a moral obligation to honor those killed in Newtown with action, and we will enact legislation that saves lives no matter how long it takes,” said a release from Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-03).
Though Murphy also reiterated his intent to fight for tighter gun regulations, he spoke of something else: kindness, like the kindness Barden showed his family on that Friday morning 12 years ago.
“...Sandy Hook reminds us that the small acts of kindness that require no national political movement to generate, are often life changing too,” Murphy said.
The senator’s emphasis on the impact of kindness in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre is nothing new. On last year’s anniversary , he helped deliver groceries to clients of FISH of Greater New Haven, a nonprofit organization that provides free, nutritious food to homebound residents in the New Haven area.
“Nothing we do can ever bring those kids back, but we should be inspired by Newtown’s efforts to make the world a kinder, more loving place,” Murphy said in last year’s release, urging others to perform acts of kindness in their communities to honor the Sandy Hook victims.
