Phoenix event changes schedule to honor Connecticut's young victims

PHOENIX - With thoughts of the young victims of the Connecticut shooting massacre, an anti-bullying celebration for children turned it into a vigil in Phoenix.

On a cold, cloudy, rainy day, it's still hard for many to come to terms with the incredible evil that took place at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

"It's very hard to celebrate when you've lost so many precious lives," event organizer and ‘I Will Not Bully Director’ Tamicia Currie said.

Curie decided to turn her planned celebration into a day to pay respect to the 20 elementary students and six adults killed by the gunman. Dozens at the event felt it was an appropriate thing to do in the wake of the one of the worst acts of violence the country has ever seen.

"It's shocking,” kindergarten assistant teacher Ida Verdugo said. “It hurts to know that these little kids didn't even know what was going to happen to them."

As more details emerge about the suspected killer, Currie believes we will likely find out the shooter was looked down upon by peers and others in his life.

"Depression, mental issues, psychological issues, emotional problems; they all stem from conflict. When conflict is unresolved then you see it manifest into something like what happened in Newtown." 

They know they can’t undo the sadness and death that occurred, but many at the event said they would dedicate themselves to helping preventing another tragedy.

“That's very, very important," Verdugo said.