Most died at the very start of their young lives, tiny victims taken in a way not fit for anyone regardless of age. Others found their life’s work in sheltering little ones, teaching them, caring for them, treating them as their own. After the gunfire ended at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the trail of loss was more than many could bear: 20 students and six adults at the school, the gunman’s mother at home, and the gunman himself.

Here are some images from the town that was the scene of the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.