Swampscott To Host Sandy Hook Anniversary Event Tonight

The event is hosted by the Brady Campaign, Million Mom March to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Newtown Action Alliance. Tonight's vigil is part of a 50-state effort on the fourth anniversary of the tragic Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children and six adult educators.

Dhruba Sen is the President of the state chapter of the Brady Campaign. He told Patch that the idea of holding the vigil at the Unitarian Church was derived from a local who had lost her son in an accident.

'"Ann Marie, her son died out of accidental shooting. He was playing at his best friend's house and there was an unlocked gun. It accidentally went off when they were playing, and he died. This time she asked if we could hold it near her. I said, "there is no question,"' he said in an interview.

12-year-old Brian Crowell was shot and killed on Christmas Eve of 1997 in Saugus when his friend was showing him an unlocked rifle he found in his mother's home. His mother Ann Marie Crowell will speak at the vigil tonight and take part in a name reading for victims of gun violence. Crowell told Patch, "My personal mission is to educate parents who own guns, legally, who don't store them properly. I'm more of a gun safety advocate. This is a different piece of the pie. I am not anti-gun, but I am minus a child." The gun that killed Brian was legally obtained by his friend's mother, who sought the gun for protection during domestic abuse. In 2007, Crowell founded the nonprofit Mother on a Mission with her daughter to speak about gun safety across the U.S.

Local leaders like Warren Tolman and Congressman Seth Moulton have expressed their support of the event, with Moulton planning on sending a representative from his office later tonight.

RSVP to the event on Facebook, and follow this post for continued updates on tonight's vigil at 101 Forest Ave, Swampscott.

The Brady Campaign is also taking part in the ongoing Thunderclap fundraiser by the Newtown Action Alliance, a volunteer organization founded by Newtown residents after the tragic December 14, 2012.

The organization seeks to collaborate with national, state, and local organizations on campaigns for gun safety laws, and works with policymakers to reduce gun violence.