If there is anything positive to take from the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, it’s that the staff saved many more young lives from ending tragically, in some cases sacrificing themselves for the sake of the children.

One of those people was Victoria Soto, and this video tells a little of her story.

Soto was a 27-year-old teacher who acted instinctively to protect the children in her care. Upon hearing the gunfire, she hid the kids in a closet and then stood between them and the gunman.

She then lied about where the kids were, at which point the gunman shot her before moving on to his next target. She died so they didn’t have to. Which makes her a true hero by any definition of the word.