LOCKPORT, Ill. (CBS) – There were tears and prayers in southwest suburban Lockport Thursday for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Even though 763 miles separate Lockport from Newtown, Conn., there was no distance in the hearts of people who attended a vigil.

“I can’t forget,” Karla Nowling tells CBS 2’s Dana Kozlov. “Every night, since it’s happened, I go to bed and the first thing I think of when I going to sleep is those children and those families.”

Almost two weeks after Adam Lanza gunned down 20 children, six adults and his mother, several people came together at Lockport’s city hall to remember them all.

Lockport Mayor Dev Trivedi says he was pleased with the turnout, which demonstrated the caring nature of residents.

The mayor had hoped Lockport would go dark for 27 minutes Thursday night, but that didn’t happen.