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Politics & Government

Seal Beach To Aurora, Colorado: We 'Stand With You'

The Seal Beach City Council sent a letter of condolences following the mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater July 20.

The people of Seal Beach know all too well what Aurora, Colorado has been through.

Seal Beach. Aurora saw 12 brutally gunned down at a movie theater July 20 in the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.

In recognition of that common thread of tragedy, the Seal Beach City Council sent a letter of condolence to the people of Aurora.

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“We can only offer our heartfelt condolences, comfort and our commitment to stand with you as you begin the journey to recover from the emotional and physical wounds left by this senseless act of violence,” the letter reads. “As we continue to cope and comfort our community, we want to believe that perhaps this event in Aurora will be the last act of violence against innocent people.”

Seal Beach Mayor Michael Levitt signed the July 25 letter, addressed to Aurora Mayor Steven Hogan. It hints at the indescribable feeling of loss that washes over a community in the aftermath of such sudden and random violence.

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“The thoughts and prayers of our community are with the families of Aurora,” the letter begins. “There are no words that we can express that will adequately convey the loss felt in Aurora… Our hope is that your community like so many others affected by tragedies will show the world that these actions will not define us; nor will they deter us from being extraordinary citizens, who will teach others that communities are much stronger than the actions of an unbalanced individual.”

Seal Beach Councilwoman Ellery Deaton called the letter a “compassionate outreach to fellow Americans.”

“I think that we all felt compassion for them, having gone through a similar situation ourselves,” Deaton said. “We knew what they were going through.”

Councilman Gordon Shanks said that just like people take food to a nearby family who has lost a loved one, the letter shows Aurora that the people of Seal Beach “feel their pain.”

The full text of the letter is just below the pictures at the top right of this story.

The Seal Beach City Council 

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