Heroes Emerge From The Sandy Hook Elementary Tragedy

Just days after the tragedy from a elementary school in Newton, Connecticut we are now learning the names and seeing the faces of those who put themselves in harms way to protect the kids at the school. Teachers, administrators, and other staff members attempted to confront the gunman as he went on his rampage, and sadly, many are no longer with us today.

One of the first heroes we learned about after this deadly shooting was First-Grade Teacher Victoria Soto. She was a 27-year-old woman who always wanted to be a teacher. Mrs. Soto shielded her students from bullets as the gunman entered her classroom. She had been at Sandy Hook for more than five years, having started as an intern before becoming a teacher.

Another hero we salute from Sandy Hook is First-Grade Teacher Kaitlin Roig. Mrs. Roig survived the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and because of her heroic actions 15 of her students are still alive today. She is credited for rushing all of her students into a bathroom as soon as she heard shots and she even blocked the entrance to her classroom with a bookshelf. She says, "I just knew we had to get in there, I just kept telling them it's going to be OK. We are going to be alright,"

School Psychologist Mary Sherlach did not survive the tragic day at Sandy Hook, but she is credited for running towards danger while the kids were seeking shelter. Mrs. Sherlach, who has been at the school since 1994 and was one year away retirement, died while protecting the kids she loved helping on a daily basis.

Music Teacher Maryrose Kristopik is credited for saving 20 children while the gunman walked through the school shooting at anything and anyone in his path. She quickly put all of her students in a closet and locked them in their room while others ran for their life. In an interview with Daily Mail she says, "I did take the children into the closet and talked with them to keep them quiet. I told them that I loved them," One parent who's child was in the classroom with Mrs. Kirstopik says her child is alive today because of the heroic actions by the teacher.

Lastly, Principal Dawn Hochsprung has been labeled a hero by many because of her actions on this deadly morning at Sandy Hook. As she was leaving a meeting last Friday, she heard the gun shots in the hallway and ran directly into danger. She perished in the gun fire, but she died doing what she loved most...helping children. She believed the school was a community. When she sent letters home to parents, she would address them to the "Sandy Hook family."