Jeremy Papasso / Reuters
Myia Young, 4, places a candle by an American flag during a vigil for victims behind a theater where a gunman open fire at moviegoers in Aurora, Colo., Friday. 12 people, including a 6-year-old girl, were confirmed dead by authorities and family members.
By Martin Wolk, NBC News
An aspiring sportscaster. A young man celebrating his 27th birthday. A sailor enjoying an evening out with a buddy. A 6-year-old girl. These were some of the victims who died in the horrific attack on a crowd attending the midnight premiere of "The Dark Night Rises" Friday in Aurora, Colo.
Authorities said 12 people are dead and 58 injured, some critically. Here are profiles of those confirmed dead by authorities or relatives:
Jessica Ghawi, 24
A hockey blogger and?aspiring sportscaster, Ghawi had recently moved to Denver from San Antonio to pursue her dream and was working as an intern at a Denver sports radio station.
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?One of the things that she had been working on with all the fires in Colorado was she had asked everybody to donate sports equipment for people because she knows how sports brings such joy,? her friend Mike Lavender told MSNBC-TV.
Ghawi had escaped a shooting at a mall in Toronto in June, writing in her blog?that an ?odd feeling? compelled her to leave the shopping center minutes before a shooting that left two people dead.
Before the movie she had exchanged excited tweets with her friends about the midnight showing from her Twitter handle, @JessicaRedfield.
"Of course we're seeing Dark Knight. Redheaded Texan spitfire, people should never argue with me. Maybe I should get in on those NHL talks??
Related: Rampage victim escaped earlier shooting
Alex Sullivan, 27
Sullivan had planned to celebrate his 27th birthday Friday, beginning with the midnight showing of the new Batman movie.
Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
A photo of Alex Sullivan is seen at a memorial site for victims behind the theater where the shooting occurred.
"Oh man one hour till the movie and its going to be the best BIRTHDAY ever," he tweeted before heading to the theater where a black-clad gunman wearing body armor opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring 58.
That was the last his friends and family heard from him.?
Heartbreaking photos showed his father,?Tom Sullivan, in the nearby Gateway High School parking lot, waving a picture of his son and yelling,?"Find my son!"
Late Friday, the family got confirmation of his death.
Jonathan Blunk, 26
Blunk always wanted to be a hero, according to his friends and family.
?He always talked about if he were going to die, he wanted to die a hero,? his estranged wife, Chantel Blunk, told NBC News from Reno, Nev.
Blunk attended the movie with a friend, Jansen Young, who credited him with saving her life.
When the shooting broke out, Young said Blunk, a military veteran, threw her to the ground and told her to stay down.
"Jon just took a bullet for me," Young told TODAY.
Chantel Blunk said her husband graduated from Reno?s Procter Hug High School in 2004 and enlisted in the Navy, serving out of San Diego aboard the USS Nimitz. The couple, who met in high school, married in 2007.
He left the service in 2009 and after separating from his wife moved to Colorado, where he worked for a hardware store. After a franctic day of trying to get information about her husband?s fate, Chantel said FBI agents arrived at her home Friday evening and confirmed her worst fears.
In addition to his wife, Blunk leaves behind two young children, a girl, 4, and a boy, 2.
Chantel said she plans to bring the body home to Reno, where he will be buried with military honors. She has set up an account through Wells Fargo to raise money for the funeral and transportation costs.
John Larimer, 27
Petty Officer Third Class John Larimer, of Crystal Lake, Ill., attended the opening with another sailor, who was injured in the attack.
"I am incredibly saddened by the loss of Petty Officer John Larimer ??he was an outstanding shipmate, "said Cmdr. Jeffrey Jakuboski, Larimer's commanding officer. "A valued member of our Navy team, he will be missed by all who knew him. My heart goes out to John's family, friends and loved ones, as well as to all victims of this horrible tragedy."
Larimer, a cryptologic technician, joined the Navy in June 2011 and had been stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora since October.
His family said they were making arrangments to bring the remains back to Illinois.
"We respectfully ask that the family and friends of John be allowed time and privacy to grieve for John and we send our thoughts and prayers out to the families of the other victims and those still recovering in the hospital," the family said in a statement. "We love you John and we will miss you always."
Matt McQuinn, 27
McQuinn, originally from Springfield, Ohio, went to the premiere with his girlfriend,?Samantha Yowler, who was injured in the attack, according to family members.
Micayla Medek, 23
Medek was among the dead, her father's cousin, Anita Busch, told The Associated Press.
Busch said the news, while heartbreaking, was a relief for the family after an agonizing day of waiting for news.
"I hope this evil act ... doesn't shake people's faith in God," she said.
Veronica Moser, 6
Veronica's death was confirmed Saturday by her great-aunt Annie Dalton, who described the family's "nightmare" as "surreal."
Veronica's mother,?Ashley, 25, was wounded in the attack and lies paralyzed in a nearby hospital, Dalton said. She has yet to hear the news of her daughter's death.
NBC News' Miranda Leitsinger and Elizabeth Chuck and MSNBC's?Dax Tejera contributed to this report.
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