Watertown

Construction Underway on Playground Honoring Sandy Hook Principal

Volunteers broke ground Tuesday on the last of the 26 playgrounds dedicated to the students and teachers shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The 26th and final playground will be named for school principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, who bravely ran toward the barrage of bullets and died protecting her students and staff.

People who knew Dawn Hochsprung shared some of the fond memories they had of her.

Alongside the Where Angels Play Foundation, Hochsprung's two daughters helped to design the playground in Watertown, the community where her four grandchildren live.

One of the many volunteers to help make the project a reality is the father of a young woman who was also killed protecting her young students.

Carlos Soto's 27-year-old daughter, Victoria, was a teacher at Sandy Hook and died shielding her students from gunfire.

He said he was inspired to help after watching the construction of his daughter's playground. Soto charged batteries for the workers on Tuesday and cheered them on.

Hundreds attended a vigil for the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary in her hometown of Naugatuck.

"From something ugly that happened, something beautiful is coming out of it," Soto said.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Oct. 5.

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