Sandy Hook Elementary first grade teacher Kaitlin Roig was worried that she and her students would not survive the gunfire that flew through the Connecticut school Friday morning.
Roig told ABC News that she quickly ushered her first grade students into the class bathroom and held the door shut with a storage unit. When police came to rescue them, Roig refused to unlock the door, worried that it was a trick by the gunman to lure them out.
The teacher told the police on the other side to slide their badges under the bathroom door to prove their identities.
"I didn't believe them," she told ABC News. "I told them if they were cops, they could get the key... They did and then unlocked the bathroom."
Despite the horror of what was happening around them and being locked in a small space, the teacher explained that she kept a positive face on for the sake of her young students.
"They asked, 'Can we go see if anyone is out there… I just want Christmas… I don't want to die, I just want to have Christmas," she said.
Roig is just one of several teachers who heroically protected the lives of their students. One teacher reportedly helped two children dodge bullets by pulling them into a classroom, and another used her body to hold a door shut to keep the gunman out.
Unconfirmed reports say that the principal and a school psychologist died in the shooting, which killed at least 27 people, including 20 children.
Local mental health professionals and aid organizations are stepping forward to help those affected by the tragedy. Here's how you can help.
CORRECTION: The original story mistakenly used "Newton" rather than Newtown, Conn.
See photos of the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting below.
