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Remembering Victims: Putting Names With Faces

by KREX News Room
by KCNC

Story Created: Jul 21, 2012 at 6:17 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jul 23, 2012 at 12:11 PM MDT

DENVER- The real story that comes out of the theater shooting is the tragedy for the families. Now there's a better picture of the lives of those people who died and their unique stories.

The victims include a 6-year-old girl excited about swimming and a petty officer proudly working as a cryptologic technician in the Navy.

As a real life horror inside a movie theater unfolded, the death toll kept rising. Twelve people have died.

Now, those numbers have names and stories, like Jessica Ghawi, Alex Sullivan, Micayla Medek and Matt McQuinn.

Their families are now left behind with much pain. "This is just like a nightmare right now, a nightmare," said Annie Dalton, the great aunt of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest known victim to die in the mass shooting. "A vibrant little girl, 6 years old. She was just bragging about learning how to swim on Tuesday," said Dalton.

Family members say the child's mother is in the ICU with a bullet lodged in her neck. "Her whole life is changed in a flash, for what? She still doesn't know her daughter is gone. Now our priority is that she survives this," said Dalton.

The Navy also confirms Petty Officer 3rd Class John Larimer died. The 27-year-old from Illinois joined the navy last summer and was stationed at Buckley Air Force Base.

One young man says his friend, AJ Boik, is among the dead, too. They went to school together. "He just had so much in him ... he was so great to everybody ... everyone just knew AJ," he said.

Tom Sullivan carried a picture with him as he frantically searched for his son, Alex Sullivan. "He's 27 years old, we're looking for him. They don't have him on any list yet," he said. His family said the young husband, brother and son died in the shooting. It was confirmed for them on the day they would have celebrated his 27th birthday.

Family members have also confirmed a young man named Matt McQuinn of Springfield, Ohio was killed. Matt and his girlfriend had recently moved out to Colorado.

Another man confirmed dead is 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress.

There was a vigil held Friday night and another one is set to take place Sunday.

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