Vigil held 5 years later for the victims of the Aurora Theater Shooting

Thursday marks the fifth anniversary of the fatal Aurora Theater shooting. The victims of the 2012 shooting were remembered with a moment of silence and candlelight vigil Wednesday night.

Leaning against one another for support, family and friends of the victims were entranced in their moment of silence to remember those who died. Five years later, they commemorate the heroes who have to wake up and swallow their pain every day.

“You can never erase the carnage out of your mind and you’ll live with that for the rest of your life,” said Lieutenant Jag Lanigan, who was on duty the night of the shooting.

For those who lived through it, the 12 crosses served as a reminder of the 12 people who lost their lives that night. The vigil each July 20 serves as a jolting reminder of what some walked away with.

“Celebrating life, spending time with my lifelong friends that I was there with, and just celebrating the ones who saved us,” said one of the survivors.

Although each year is painful a lesson is brought to the surface, as the next step for those involved is to continue to move toward the future.