Aurora, Colo.— A U.S. Navy veteran who served three tours of duty in the Middle East. A 6-year-old girl excited about her swimming classes. A Target employee who shielded his girlfriend and her brother with his own body. Thousands converged at the Aurora Municipal Center Sunday night to honor them and nine others who were killed in the theater shooting rampage. Here are their stories:
Jonathan Blunk had high hopes for the future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy SEAL. The 26-year-old served three tours in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009.He died after throwing himself in front of a friend.
Alexander J. Boik , an 18-year-old known as AJ, had a reputation for making people laugh and tried to bring back the mullet haircut in his freshman year of high school.
Jesse Childress was an Air Force cyber-systems operator based at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora.
Air Force Capt. Andrew Williams described the 29-year-old from Thornton, Colo., as knowledgeable, experienced and respectful.
Gordon Cowden loved life and his family, and he had gone to the midnight movie premiere with his two teenage children. At 51, he was the oldest of the victims killed in the shooting. He was described as a "true Texas gentleman" in a family statement.
Jessica Ghawi, 24, recently wrote a blog post after surviving a shooting at a Toronto mall, saying it showed her "how fragile life was."
Friends say she didn't let the June 2 shooting change her outlook as she pursued a sports journalism career.
John Larimer was a Navy sailor based at Buckley Air Force Base, where he was a cryptologic technician — a job that the Navy says on its website should be filled by someone with "exceptionally good character, above-average writing and speaking skills, a good memory, curiosity and resourcefulness." Those who knew him described him in similar terms.
As the attack in the theater unfolded, Matt McQuinn , a Target employee, dove in front of his girlfriend and her older brother to shield them from the gunfire. He died protecting them, said Rob Scott, an Ohio attorney.
Micayla Medek loved a night out with her friends, and she was with a group of about 10 of them at the premiere. Medek, 23, was "Cayla" to her family and friends. She was juggling classes at Aurora Community College with a job at a Subway sandwich shop.
The youngest of the victims killed in the attack was Veronica Moser-Sullivan . She had just learned to swim, and at age 6, she was a "great little girl, excited about life," her great-aunt Annie Dalton said.
Alex Sullivan 's family called him "their real life superhero," and he was at "The Dark Knight Rises" premiere celebrating his 27th birthday and his first wedding anniversary.
Alexander C. Teves , 24, of Phoenix, earned a master's degree in counseling psychology in June from the University of Denver. He was a lovable person who made friends quickly and had a lot of them, said his grandfather, Carlo Iacovelli of Barnegat, N.J.
Rebecca Ann Wingo had started a job several months ago as a customer relations representative at a mobile medical imaging company. She was 32.
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