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Mourners comfort one another Sunday before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims.

Two women embrace before the interfaith vigil at Newtown High School on Sunday evening.

From left: Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut, residents Rachel Pullen and her son, Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on Sunday, December 16, in Newtown, Connecticut.

A young boy walks past Christmas trees set up at a makeshift shrine to the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 16.

Ty Diaz is kissed by his mother, Yvette, at a memorial down the street from Sandy Hook on December 16.

Teddy bears, flowers and candles in memory of those killed are left at a memorial down the street from the school on December 16.

Two teenagers embrace at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on December 16.

Nuns pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims on December 16.

Members of Sisters of Christian Charity go to lay flowers in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16 in Newtown.

A woman receives a hug as she leaves morning service December 16 at Trinity Church in Newtown near the elementary school.

Parishioners pay their respects to the victims of the elementary school shooting while attending Mass at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.

Police officers honor the victims of the school shooting at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church on December 16 in Newtown.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims before their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 16.

A parishioner kneels in front of a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.

A police officer removes flowers from a busy intersection on December 16 in Newtown. Police said they were afraid the memorial, left for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, would cause a traffic hazard.

A woman hugs her daughter on the steps of Trinity Church on December 16 in Newtown.

Angel wood cutouts for each of the 27 victims are set up on hillside in Newtown on December 16.

People in Bangalore, India, hold cards and photographs of the slain at a candlelight vigil outside a Catholic church on December 16.

J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans shows his glove in remembrance of the victims before the start of a game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 16 in Houston.

Donna Soto, right, mother of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed while protecting her students, hugs her daughter Karly while mourning their loss at a candlelight memorial at Stratford High School on Saturday, December 15, in Stratford, Connecticut.

Firefighters kneel to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown on Saturday.

A child lights a candle at a memorial filled with flowers, stuffed toys and candles outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Saturday.

Candles light up a memorial outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.

Candles burn next to a lighted tree at a makeshift shrine in Newtown.

Lucas, Kelly and Michael DaSilva pray and embrace at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown.

People are overcome with emotion Saturday at a makeshift memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Residents arrive Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

A couple carry balloons to place at a curbside shrine to in Newtown on Saturday.

A mother and daughter attend a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Newtown on Saturday.

Flowers and signs of sympathy adorn the street leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Claudia Urbiana and daughter Jocelyne Cardenas, left, hug outside of the entrance to the Sandy Hook school.

A makeshift memorial with flowers, stuffed toys and candles sit outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, on Saturday.

A man bows his head as he stands at a makeshift memorial, outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.

New Jersey resident Steve Wruble, who was moved to drive out to Connecticut to support local residents, grieves for victims at the entrance to Sandy Hook village in Newtown on Saturday.

People attend a prayer service in Newtown on Saturday to reflect.

A mother hugs her children after paying tribute to the victims in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.

Newtown High School student Trevor Lopez stands outside of a church where residents have come to pray and reflect on Saturday

Andrea Jaeger places flowers and a candle at a makeshift memorial outside a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.

The U.S. flag flies at half-staff above the White House on Saturday.

Ken Kowalsky and his daughter Rebecca, 13, embrace while standing at the end of the road leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.

A woman puts a flower near crosses planted by Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace), in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

A woman sits during a service at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, December 14.

Fans at the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown shooting on Friday in Phoenix.

An overflow crowd listens to a church service held at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown on December 14.

People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church on Friday.

People gather for a vigil outside the White House in Washington following the Connecticut elementary school shooting on Friday.

Candles burn as people gather for a vigil outside the White House.

Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Padro Segarra speaks emotionally about the students and teachers who died earlier in the day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in nearby Newtown at a candlelight vigil at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Friday.

Cynthia Alvarez is comforted by her mother, Lilia, as people gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.

People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown.

People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church.

People gather inside the St. Rose Church to remember the shooting victims on Friday

A woman bows her head during a vigil for the shooting victims at St. Rose Church.

People gather in the St. Rose Church for a memorial service Friday.

Women comfort each other during the vigil at St. Rose Church.

A woman looks on during the vigil at St. Rose Church.

People hug outside of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Friday, near the site of the shootings at the Sandy Hook school.

A flag at the U.S. Capitol flies at half-staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking from the White House. Obama called for "meaningful action" in the wake of the school shooting.

Julie Henson of San Francisco joins other people outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil on Friday.

Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the shooting on Friday.

Washington resident Rachel Perrone, left, and her 5-year-old son, Joe, center, join others outside the White House in a candlelight vigil.

Faisal Ali, right, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, joins the vigil outside the White House.

People gather outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil.

Supporters of gun control hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting outside the White House.

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Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- The center of Newtown couldn't be more decked out for the holidays. It seems like there are ribbons and wreaths for every lamppost and door. Lights sparkle from trees, and a big wood sign calls residents to the local firehouse to pick up even more holiday sprigs.

That same firehouse is where parents ran in panic after receiving robocalls and texts about a shooting Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School up the street.

Now, the high spirits of the holidays have been darkened. Signs in storefronts have stopped declaring holiday cheer and are calling instead for prayer and mourning. The firehouse is ringed by first responders greeting members of the community coming to drop flowers and notes. A sign pointing to the entrance of the local grade school now marks the scene of a massacre of young children.

A day that started like any other

Since the shooting, tears fall easily in this town, especially after police released the sober list of names of the dead. It was striking as much for the birth dates as for the length. The column "DOB" listed 20 born in the years 2005 and 2006. Then six names of female educators young and middle-aged. The 7th birthday of a little girl named Josephine Gay happened last week. Another named Charlotte Bacon would have turned 7 in February.

Remembering the victims

"I don't think there are words," said a woman as she broke down in tears when she came to leave flowers for the dead. Her daughter also went to the elementary school. She had listened to the robocall about the shooter, feeling anything but calm. Like a lot of mothers in the area, she had been swept by panic wondering which school had an unfolding crime and whether her child might be among those injured or killed.

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Another woman, Miriam Espinoza, fell to the grass and wept when she saw the flowers around the elementary school sign post. She clutched her third-grader, recounting her later relief as she discovered her child was not among the victims. "But those other mamas," she said in Spanish, "how did they go forward?"

It was as if an entire town suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. No one was left unmarked since those harrowing minutes Friday of sorting out who had and had not survived, and the many hours since of figuring out how close danger had touched their lives. Was their child OK? What about their neighbor's child or the teacher who once taught their teen?

Laura Phelps and husband Nick have a first and third-grader at the school. They rushed to Sandy Hook Elementary to see if their children were among the injured or dead.

"When we got our children and I saw my son's teacher, they were like ghosts, but they were incredibly composed; they were calm; they had their sheets with them checking off, making sure each child went with their parent," she said. "They did everything possible to keep our kids safe, and I wish I had known when I looked at their faces just to say thank you because I have my children."

Teacher: 'I wanted to be the last thing they heard, not the gunfire'

As mourners placed flowers for the dead, their friends could barely put together words. Alexander Galinsky walked with his head dipped as he thought of a friend who lost a son. "Last night we felt something unusual because they didn't respond on the phone calls, messages," he said of his friend. "Last night they basically called us and (there were) just a few words. (Their son is) not with us anymore."

This family had come from England two years ago but quickly fit into a tightly knit community. Galinsky said he began considering them close friends almost overnight. "We cannot comprehend with our minds and our hearts," he said.

Some parents' voices still rattled as they uttered that awful word "lockdown," something children practice with their teachers. It is a modern addition to a fall season of fire drills and other safety lessons for the littlest of schoolchildren. But the word shocked adults when it took on real-life meaning.

Library clerk Mary Ann Jacob fell into the arms of her husband as she recounted hearing crackling over the school's public address system. "I thought they'd left it on so I just called the office to tell them we could hear them," she said. A member of the office staff told her about the shooter so she and some other staff hustled the kids into a storage closet. "We practice these lockdowns; we have to have several by a certain date," she said. She handed out pieces of paper and crayons to the cluster of 6-year-olds to keep them quiet.

Latest developments

Jacob said the door was kept locked while the principal and other staff were in the halls fighting off an attack. They were so scared of what was unfolding that they didn't even open the door for police when they finally came knocking. "I made him show his badge," she said.

The town's initial trauma has turned to mourning as churches opened their doors for counseling and services, and a vigil for one teacher drew hundreds. On Sunday, there were even more services as well as a planned visit by President Barack Obama, all as the investigation unfolds into how a day that began with promises of some first-graders building gingerbread houses after school had ended this way.

One woman who came with flowers said she was there because she didn't know what else to do. Her friend could only offer this response: "I think it's coming to these memorials, I think it's being close from one family to another. And just being there. You know just hugs; I don't think there are any words."

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