About a dozen people, mostly firefighters, braved heavy rain and wind to gather on the Derby Green Friday at the memorial bell dedicated to the city’s firefighters.
Public Works employee Frank Pelaccia rang the bell several times with a hammer, then passed the tool to firefighters, who took turns following suit.
They rang the bell a total of 26 times, once for each victim of last week’s tragic shooting in Newtown.
The last to ring the bell was Mayor Anthony Staffieri, who made some brief remarks afterward.
The mayor began by saying not much new could be said about the senseless tragedy in Newtown.
“Hopefully something good will come out of all of this,” the mayor said. ​“Merry Christmas.”
Gov. Dannel Malloy had asked that residents participate in a moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. Friday, exactly a week after Newtown resident Adam Lanza gunned his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 26 people inside.