NEWTOWN, CT (CNN/RNN) – On Dec. 14, 2012, the nightmare of many parents became a reality.

Five years ago Thursday, 20 children were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

The gunman also killed six adults at the school and his mother before taking his own life.

Victims ranged in age from 6 to 56 years old.

A permanent memorial to remember the lives taken that day is in the works.

The Sandy Hook school was torn down the year after the tragedy and a new facillity built.

Congress failed to pass a new assault weapons ban in the wake of Sandy Hook, though some gun restrictions have been enacted by state and local governments.

Mass shootings have continued unabated since the tragedy at Newtown. 

Two of the five deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history have occurred this year, CNN reported.

On Oct. 1, a gunman fired down onto a country music festival crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, killing 58 and wounding more than 500 – the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

On Nov. 5, a gunman entered a church in rural Texas and killed 26.

Copyright 2017 CNN. All rights reserved. Raycom News Network contributed to this report.