Victoria Soto, along with five other teachers and administrators killed in the Sandy Hook shooting last December, were honored with the highest award given to civilians earlier this week.
Soto, of Stratford, Conn., was killed while protecting her class of first-grade students and was picked to receive the Citizen Honors Medal by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Fox News Latino reported.
The society chose bestow the award upon Soto and the other educators after receiving several nominations for their actions protecting their students during the shooting at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school,
Soto’s sisters, Jillian Soto and Carlee Soto, accepted the honor on her behalf.
Rachel D’Avino, Dawn Hochsprung, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, and Mary Sherlach were also honored with the award.
According to the society, “The women exemplified courage, sacrifice and selflessness in trying to protect students from gunman Adam Lanza.””
Even thought they were not trained for the events that occurred that day, Soto and the other honorees “acted to protect the children”, Janet Robinson, who was superintendent of Newtown Schools when the shooting occurred, told the audience during the award ceremony.
The society also planned to honor every other staff member at the school with a Certificate of Commendation.
Soto was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian award, by President Barack Obama last February.
(AP Photo)
