The entire world was shaken to it’s core this past Friday as the details of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut unfolded. It’s times like these we’re all left asking how there could be so much evil in this world. It’s also times like this we’re reminded that there is still SO much good in this world too. Below is a list of heroes that laid down their life, or who helped save the lives of the children children of Sandy Hook Elementary. May they rest in peace, and stand as a reminder of the good things in this life.

First-Grade Teacher Victoria Soto, Age 27

Her last moments were spent rushing her students into a closet when gunshots started going off. When the gunman entered her classroom, she shielded her students from incoming bullets.

First-Grade Teacher Kaitlin Roig, Age 29

Kaitlin Roig survived the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary school. Thanks to her quick thinking and bravery, so did 15 children. When she first heard gunshots, she quickly hurried her students into a tiny bathroom and pulled a bookshelf across the door before locking it. Roig told her students to be “absolutely quiet.”

School Psychologist Mary Sherlach, Age 56

Mary Sherlach was only 1 year away from retirement. When she first heard the gun shots, her first instinct was to head directly into the danger. Like the principal Dawn Hochsprung, she died protecting kids by confronting the killer.

Music Teacher Maryrose Kristopik, Age 50

Thanks to Maryrose Kristopik 20 students survived Friday’s shooting and will be spending Christmas at home with their families. When the first shots were heard, the quick-thinking Kristopik moved her class of 20 into a nearby closet and barricaded the door.

“All of the staff members worked hard at our school to help our children,” Kristopik said to the NY Daily News. “Now it’s time to focus on helping the families who lost their children today.”

School Principal Dawn Hochsprung, Age 47

When the gunman shot his way his way into the school through the windows, Hochsprung died while lunging at him in an attempt to stop him from hurting any of her faculty or students. She, like others at Sandy Hook, selflessly gave their life to protect the people they cared so much about.