Saturday marks 20-year anniversary of LIRR massacre

Saturday marks 20-year anniversary of LIRR massacre


Saturday marks the 20-year anniversary of the Long Island Rail Road massacre. In light of the anniversary, News 12 Long Island is catching up with some of the people the tragedy touched.

On Dec. 7, 1993, Colin Ferguson opened fire on a train full of Long Islanders coming home from work. Ferguson shot 25 people, killing six, including the husband of now-Rep. Carolyn McCarthy.

"I came to Congress ... to help usher in common-sense reforms to prevent senseless tragedy," says McCarthy. "Twenty years later, I know there is much more for our nation to accomplish."

James Gorycki was also among the six killed. His wife, Joyce, has since become a gun control activist as a tribute to her husband. She is currently the chairwoman of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence for Long Island, which is now a statewide group.

"Life goes on, but it's something that always stays with you," she says.

The tragic shooting is still fresh in the minds of the victims who survived the shooting, like Robert Giugliano.

"I think about it every day, there's not a day that goes by where I don't think about it," he says.

Gorycki and other family members of the victim will attend a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday at 9 a.m. in Mineola.

Ferguson is now serving a sentence of 315 years in an upstate prison.