PHOTO: North Philly graffiti mural pays tribute to Newtown school shooting victims

A popular North Philadelphia graffiti wall is now emblazoned with a tribute to the victims of Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The piece at 5th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue features “Sandy Hook” in large block letters and a descending angel surrounded by clouds. Beside it are the words “Dedicated to Sandy Hook Elementary School.”

Twenty-six people – twenty of them first-grade students – were killed at the school when a gunman opened fire in one of the worst mass shootings in the nation’s history.

Many people around the country – including here in Philly, where the homicide rate is on pace to surpass that of last year – are calling for stronger gun laws in the wake of the tragedy.