Tom Sullivan, who’s son Alex was killed in the 2012 Aurora movie theatre massacre, speaks at a rally against gun violence in front of Republican Congressman Mike Coffman’s office, in Aurora, Colo., Wednesday April 23, 2014. Sullivan and other parents of Aurora theater shooting victims urged Coffman to support universal background checks in Congress. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) 
Colorado theatre shooter James Holmes appears in court with his attorneys, Daniel King and Katherine Spengler, during sentencing on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 in Centennial, Colo. Holmes was formally sentenced to life in prison without parole by Judge Carlos Samour Jr. Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 others in the July 20, 2012 ambush. (RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via AP, Pool) 
Blennes Quientana writes a message on a cross at a memorial for the victims in the shooting across the street from the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012. James Eagen Holmes has been charged in the shooting at the Aurora theater early Friday that killed twelve people and injured more than 50.He is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) 
The Century theater is pictured in Aurora, Colo., on Friday, July 19, 2013. It was closed for six months after the shooting where 12 people were killed and 70 injured. After being remodeled the name was changed from Century 16 to Century. Saturday July 20 is the anniversary of the Aurora theater shootings. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) 
Twelve crosses—one for each victim who died in the 2012 mass shooting in a nearby theatre—stand in the reflection memorial garden outside city hall to mark the 10th anniversary of the killing spree, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
SOON: Douwe Blumberg works on his tribute sculpture in the Reflection Garden, a memorial near City Hall for victims of the Aurora theater shooting. PHOTOS SUPPLIED 
A bracelet made in memory of the Aurora Theater Shooting. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Theresa Hoover, left, the mother of A.J. Boik who was one of the victims in the massacre at an Aurora, Colo., theatre in July 2012, embraces an unidentified woman as Hoover leaves the Arapahoe County Courthouse after a jury failed to agree on whether theater shooter James Holmes should get the death penalty Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, in Centennial, Colo. Holmes will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) 
Randi Landry, of Lafayette, holds a candle during a vigil to honor the victims of Thursday night’s shooting at The Grand 16 theater Friday, July 24, 2015, in Lafayette, La. John Russell Houser stood up about 20 minutes into Thursday night’s showing of “Trainwreck” and fired on the audience with a semi-automatic handgun. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) 
Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed in the 2012 Aurora movie theatre massacre, talk with members of the media and display a T-shirt memorializing the twelve people killed in the attack, outside the Arapahoe County District Court following the day of closing arguments in the trial of theater shootings defendant James Holmes, in Centennial, Colo., Tuesday July 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) 
FILE – In this July 23, 2012, file photo, James Holmes, who is charged with killing 12 moviegoers and wounding 70 more in a shooting spree in a crowded theatre in 2012, sits in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo. Attorneys for Holmes, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the theater shooting, continue their case Tuesday, June 30, 2015. (RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via AP, Pool, File) 
Guests fill the lobby of the Century Aurora cinema, formerly the Century 16, for a reopening and remembrance ceremony Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013 in Aurora, Colo. The theater is where 12 people were killed and dozens injured in a shooting rampage last July. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool) 
President Barack Obama, right, walks out to makes a statement at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012, after visiting with families of victims of the movie theater shooting as well as local officials. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is at left. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) 
From left, Tylecia Amos, 14, Shatyra Amos, 15, Michael Walker, 17, and Mykia Walker, 16, carry flowers to lay at a makeshift memorial across the street from the Century Theater parking lot, on Saturday, July 21, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack early Friday at the packed theater during a showing of the Batman movie, “Dark Knight Rises.” Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez) 
Judy Goos, center left, hugs her daughter’s friend, Isaiah Bow, 20, while eyewitnesses Emma Goos, 19, left, and Terrell Wallin, 20, right, gather outside Gateway High School where witnesses were brought for questioning Friday, July 20, 2012, in Aurora, Colo. A gunman wearing a gas mask set off an unknown gas and fired into a crowded movie theater at a midnight opening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing at least 12 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez) 
President Barack Obama pauses during a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting during an event at the Harborside Event Center in Ft. Myers, Fla., Friday, July 20, 2012. Obama said the tragic movie theater shooting in Colorado that left 12 people dead is a reminder that life is fragile. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AURORA | Monday marks 14 years since a catastrophic mass shooting at an Aurora theater killed 12 people, injured 70 and tore apart the lives of surviving family members.
“My heart aches for each of the victims killed in this terrible tragedy. Their loss has impacted their families and communities forever, and I know that their memories will never fade,” former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords said in a statement. “This appalling shooting should never have happened.”
She created “GIFFORDS” after her own gun attack as an effort to find answers to gun violence.
The group has worked with the families of Aurora theater shooting victims and Colorado lawmakers to pass “Jessi’s Law” in 2023.
That measure, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Tom Sullivan, whose own son was killed during the theater shooting, worked to repeal gun industry immunity laws.
“I’m especially proud of my friends Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter Jessi Redfield Ghawi was killed, as well as Senator Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex lost his life that night,” Giffords said. “They have worked to turn their pain into action, and Colorado is a safer state because of it.”
Killed were Jonathan Blunk, 26, Alexander Boik, 18, Jesse Childress, 29, Gordon Cowden, 51, Jessica Ghawi, 24, John Larimer, 27, Matt McQuinn, 27, Micayla Medek, 23, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6, Alex Sullivan, 27, Alexander C. Teves, 24 and Rebecca Wingo, 32.
For the 11th year, the 7/20 Memorial Foundation will hold its annual Day of Resilience July 25, bringing survivors, victims’ families, first responders and community members together to honor those killed, injured and affected by the 2012 Aurora theater shooting while celebrating healing and resilience.
The free public event is slated from 8 a.m. to noon at the Aurora Water-Wise Garden, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.
The day’s activities begin at 7:30 a.m. with the fifth annual Hero’s Journey 5K and Kids Run, preceded by music from DJ Sinna-G and a warm-up led by Stride Fitness Southlands. The walk and run, led by survivor and firefighter Zack Golditch, raises money for the Zack Golditch Opportunity Scholarship through a partnership with the Aurora Public Schools Foundation. Registration costs $12 to $40.
The festival will feature nearly 50 professional chalk artists creating murals centered on remembrance, resilience and hope, along with a wellness fair offering trauma-informed resources, therapy dogs, mindfulness activities, art therapy and community organizations.
The event also includes live music, family activities, local food vendors and a craft beverage experience featuring participating breweries. Unlimited tastings will be available for a suggested donation benefiting the foundation. Organizers said the event will also include a designated sober gathering space.
“The Day of Resilience is about making space for people to show up exactly as they are,” Heather Dearman, chief executive officer of the 7/20 Memorial Foundation, said in a statement. “From the Hero’s Journey 5K and Chalk Art Festival to the Wellness Fair and opportunities for connection — it is intentionally designed to remind people that healing looks different for everyone, and that no one has to walk that journey alone.”
Beyond the 2012 carnage and suffering, the massacre stripped Aurora of its anonymity. Like Virginia Tech before it and Newtown after, Aurora post-July 20 is “one of those places,” forever bound to the American gun violence that shocks the world with increasing frequency.
Despite the association with the mass shooting, however, the city’s former mayor said the city has grown to accept and build on the tragedy of the shooting. The city has incorporated its fate into a new role as a leader in healing and moving past such disasters, local memorial foundation volunteers say.
Former Mayor Steve Hogan said the theater shooting absolutely enveloped Aurora, but it’s never defined it.
While Aurora will for at least generations be harnessed to the tragedy, it’s absorbed the distinction but moved on in what some say is a healing process for communities struck by such tragedies.
Each year, as July 20 rolls around, the memories are stirred.
Founded in 2013 after the Aurora theater shooting, the 7/20 Memorial Foundation group initially led fundraising, planning and construction of the permanent 7/20 memorial, which was completed in 2018. The organization has since expanded its mission to support survivors and communities affected by mass violence through advocacy, remembrance and healing programs.
The annual Day of Resilience has become one of the foundation’s signature events, bringing together survivors, families and supporters to commemorate those lost while emphasizing recovery and community connection.
Details and 5K registration are available at 7-20memorial.org/upcoming-events/day-of-resilience-2026.