Hundreds mourn for victims of Sandy Hook massacre, but second mass canceled after mysterious 'threat' surfaces

Hundreds mourn for victims of Sandy Hook massacre, but second mass canceled after mysterious 'threat' surfaces

Allison Joyce/New York Daily News

Security forces swarm St. Rose Church of Lima in Newtown, Conn. after a phone threat scare.

NEWTOWN, Conn. â€" Several hundred mourners packed a Newtown church Sunday morning for an emotional memorial to the victims of Friday's mass shooting â€" but a second mass was abruptly canceled by a telephone “threat” to the house of worship.

Father Ignacio Ortigas, a reverend at the church, said an anonymous caller threatened to come "finish the job because the other guy didn't," a chilling reference to Adam Lanza's killing spree at a local elementary school that left 20 children and six adults dead.

"It was very sick and disturbing," Ortigas said.

Mourners were asked to evacuate the church after the threat, said Father Robert Weiss in an interview with Ora.TV, which is livestreaming video coverage from the chruch.

Congregants walked out in an orderly fashion but were confused and traumatized. "Many children were crying," Weiss said.

Initial reports in the New York Times stated the caller said, "I'm coming to kill."

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"Who would do such a thing? In a place, a church, where people come to feel safe," said a hysterical Ann Wood, 58, leaving the church.

"Oh God, What is the world coming to?! added Theresa Teixeira, 56, also walking away. "We just wanted to come here and pray. The priest just just said there had been a threat and everyone had to go."

The church will be remain closed Sunday and resume services at 6:45 a.m. Monday, Ortigas said.

At least one woman was taken away by ambulance after suffering an anxiety attack. Most people walked to their cars and left as instructed as cops canvassed the church.

"It's probably nothing. Something stupid. But everyone has to go," a state trooper told the crowd.

An "all clear" was declared a short time later.

The afternoon evacuation followed a touching morning event that got even more emotional when church-goers learned that one of the tiny victims was scheduled to participate in her church’s Christmas Eve pageant next week.

And the show will go on, said Weiss in tribute to its missing angel.

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"We are having practice for our pageant this morning at 11 a.m,” he said. “As you know, one of the little girls taken from us was scheduled to be an angel in the pageant," Father Weiss said holding back tears without mentioning her name.

"So we want to continue that Christmas Eve pageant in her memory and the memory of all the children."

"Oh God," one woman said, sobbing.

Many others could not contain their tears as they heard the revelation.

"Keep us in your prayers. We have at least eight funerals to get through this week of some of these children. It's heavy in the hearts of all of us."

Msgr. Jerald Doyle, from the Bridgeport Diocese, tried to offer consolation to the crowded church.

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"One cannot really imagine what's in the hearts of so many of you, particularly those who have lost a loved one, a child," Doyle said. "These events come so close to Christmas. Some of you say, ‘I will never celebrate Christmas again.’ But you will. Not because you will have forgotten. You will because you still will be able to look forward."

Parishioners said the mass felt comforting despite the widespread sadness.

 

"What happened had no rhyme or reason. It happened," said Craig Maginsky, 54. "We must go on. There were a lot of tears, a lot of hugs. What happened here ... you just can't never imagine. The entire town is in mourning."

 

Danielle Lash, 40, left the mass in tears, thinking of the victims and her own kids, who are the same age as the fallen.

"We came here looking for strength. We came to find consolation," said an emotional Lash. "This is especially difficult if you are a patent. You just can't imagine losing your children that way."

The church will offer counseling to kids in grades eight through 12 at 6 p.m. to help them cope with the tragedy, father Weiss said.

 

Church-goers also wrote messages on a board on their way out.

 

"God needed 20 angels so he called upon them," read one. "I pray for the kids like me that did not deserve that. God bless you."

 

esandoval@nydailynews.com