Wednesday marked five years since the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, movie theater massacre that took place during a screening of The Dark Night Rises.
Twelve people were killed and 70 others injured when James Holmes walked into a midnight showing of the film and opened fire.
Holmes was found guilty on 24 counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 12 life sentence terms plus more than 3,300 years in prison for the shooting.
Wednesday night (into Thursday morning), locals in Colorado held a candlelight vigil and moment of silence, along with a procession by the Aurora Police Department in remembrance of the victims.
At around 12:18 a.m. Thursday, the names of the 12 victims in the Aurora Theater Shooting were announced and white balloons were released as each name was called out.
A moment of silence followed. Shortly after, the vigil began.
Officers then joined the rest of the people at the vigil and were received, once again, with signs of gratitude and respect by Aurora residents.
Miami Beach Police Chief Dan Oates, formerly the chief or Aurora, joined WIOD's Al Lewis to reflect on the tragedy.
The Aurora shooting seems to have sparked a fire of attacks across the country: with the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting just five months later, and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando only a few years following that.
"Cataclysmic. Our event was five months before Newtown, Sandy Hook. We we just, as a city, climbing out of the nightmare about five months later... and then Sandy Hook happened... and the whole city plunged back into darkness" Oates remembers of the time period.
Oates spent another two years after the tragedy in Aurora before moving to Miami Beach. "Every day, for the rest of the time I was in Aurora... every day you would run into people... they were in the theater, in the complex, had a family member in the complex..." Oates recalls of the lasting effect the shooting had on the city as a whole.
Now, even five years later, Oates says that law enforcement officials are dedicated to banning together in times of need.
He mentions that anytime disaster and tragedy strike, those who have been through similar situations, a "fraternity" of police chiefs, is always ready to reach out to the officer in need or the department effected by crisis.
You can listen to the full interview here:
Oates says that, no matter the situation or time period, every department across the nation must always be prepared for if and when disaster strikes. He mentions that even now, in Miami Beach, drills are conducted and simulated too keep all officers and first responders prepared and on the same page in case of an emergency.
In fact, Oates mentions that the fire department will be conducting a drill next week. "We train like this all the time now."