AURORA | Federal officials today announced a $2.9 million grant to Colorado aimed at helping victims of the July 20 theater shooting in Aurora.
The grant from the Office of Justice Programs’ Office for Victims of Crime will go to the Colorado Department of Public Safety to help more than 1,500 people effected by the shootings, which left 12 dead and 70 hurt.
“OVC is committed to promoting justice and healing for all victims of crime,” Acting OVC Director Joye Frost said in a statement announcing the grant.
Frost said the money will help restore a sense of normalcy to the lives of victims of the shooting and help them participate in the criminal justice process.
Several agencies will receive money from the grant, including the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office, Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, Aurora Mental Health Center, Denver and Aurora police, and the Jefferson and Arapahoe County sheriffs offices.
Similar grants were given to victims of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Tucson, Ariz. shootings in 2011, the Binghamton, New York shootings in 2009 and the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007.