Plaza Towers Memorial Captures Lives Lost

The seven children who lost their lives May 20, 2013 at Plaza Towers Elementary were honored with a special memorial.

It's at the entrance of the new school and represents not only the resilience of Plaza Towers, but the entire community.

It was an extremely moving dedication ceremony Monday. The memorial captures in a special way, each of the seven lives lost.

Seven granite benches, each full of personality, tell a personal story of the seven children lost inside the school.

“That's definitely her spirit. She was a free spirit. That girl definitely marched to her own drum, that's for sure,” said Jimmy Rossen.

Jimmy Rossen lost his little girl Antonia Candelaira.

“I spent most of my time trying to choke back emotions, stuff like that, stay strong for my family,” said Rossen. “It's good to see my community come together.”

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Seven silhouettes, three boys and four girls, were engraved on the walls as you walk into the new elementary school. Every child is doing something they loved; playing basketball, soccer, singing, things that were special in each of their lives.

“It puts a smile on my face because Kyle was such a happy child. He loved life, and everything was exciting. He wanted to be a soccer champion because he had been playing since he was 3-years-old. Each thing on there just brings a certain memory, and it's just wonderful,” said Mikki Davis.

Mikki Davis lost her son Kyle and has been part of the fight to get shelters in every school across the state.

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“We're going to keep fighting. It's not over. There are so many shelters that have been already been put into schools, even in small districts because of this,” said Davis.

“I just don't want to see this happen to any more kids, and I think that we should have shelters in all these schools,” said Henry Hornsby.

Henry Hornsby lost his granddaughter, Janae.

“It's one thing to lose a loved one, someone that's lived a long time. You expect to see them leave, but you don't expect to see a baby. You don't expect to see a child. We never think that it will happen to us,” said Hornsby.

Each family member was presented with a rose formally dedicating this memorial to their children.