MYFOXNY.COM -
Houses of worship in and around new town were filled with parishioners who needed to pray and grieve together.
Unfortunately, there were some frightening moments at one church that forced worshippers to evacuate for an hour.
Some carried candles and flowers into Saint Rose Church, others held hands – but from the holiest to the bravest, just about everyone in Newtown, Connecticut came together as one – filled with sorrow.
"I grew up here, this is my hometown," said an emotional Rick Camejo, Pres. of Newtown Hook & Ladder..
A hometown in need of hugs now more than ever as more than 3,000 stuffed animals lay on the lawn of Saint Rose sent by another church in Rhode Island to help make the children of Newtown feel just a bit safer.
"The outpouring from outlying towns and now across country is amazing," said Camejo.
And then something else amazing at the church -- almost too hard to believe just two days after twenty 6 and 7-year-olds were gunned down by a man with a rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary.
There was a threat against church and everyone was asked to evacuate.
A threat to the church forced Connecticut State Police to rush in wearing armored gear with rifles of their own. Parishioner's forced to evacuate Saint Rose in mid-service – not even able to grieve in peace.
"Father Bob (Msgr. Robert Weiss) came in during ceremony and said church was threatened and we all had to leave," said John Reilly a parishioner.
Some cried while forced to evacuate the church. Others so overwhelmed with anguish, they needed medical help.
"I was just praying for the victims and the shooters family," said 14-year-old Michael Doyle, one of the victim's neighbors.
The Doyle family was especially close to the tragedy. Murdered teacher Anne Marie Murphy was their neighbor and they all met just the way you would expect them to here in Newtown.
"When we went ice skating for first time, Anne Marie and her kids bought us brownies. That's when I first met Anne Marie -- such a beautiful person," said Michelle Doyle.
And such a beautiful place to call home, now forever marred by one man's madness.
