Somber mood in Newtown

NEWTOWN, Conn. (WTNH) -- If words are to be offered for comfort how difficult it is to find one word, one phrase to encapsulate the magnitude of tragedy surrounding Newtown Connecticut.

"When I first heard this I felt a lot of rage and I got in my car and I was very grateful that they were safe and as I was driving down the road and getting here I started to feel a tremendous amount of gratitude that they were safe and I felt a tremendous amount of empathy and compassion for the families that have been shattered as a result of this madness," a Newtown parent said.

28 dead. Lost souls who will never grab a diploma, walk down a wedding isle, celebrate the birth of a grand child and for what?

"It doesn't even seem real. It just does not even seem possible. You know, you read it in the paper and see it in the news, you're like omg that poor family and then you have something happen so close to home it's like...I think I'm still in shock," another parent said.

Newtown traditionally, historically quiet, quaint. All that lost for now by one man who destroyed so much, took so much. Indeed there are no words to absorb this kind of loss.

"I thought of 911 this is 911 on steroids, at least for me," the first parent said.