(WSBT) As prayer services continue locally and around the country for Virginia Tech, Friday marked a somber anniversary. Many people are drawing a connection between Virginia Tech and the Columbine High School shootings. It was April 20, 1999, when two Columbine students gunned down several of their fellow students.

This week's events have caused some Columbine families to once again come face to face with very raw emotions. Rev. Paul Cecrle of Rochester lost his 17-year-old granddaughter, Rachel Scott, in the Columbine shootings. She's believed to be one of the first killed.

Cecrle told WSBT News this week's massacre is bringing back a lot of memories for him and his wife. He says he knows what other families are going through right now, but it's important to regain hope. Cercle also says healing will take time.

"Sure, we'll miss them," he said. "We'll always miss them. But we got hope. If there's no hope, then there's really sorrow."

Rachel Scott's brother, Craig, is a Columbine survivor. He was in the library at Columbine on April 20, 1999. He remembers when two fellow students several others — including his sister — that day in Littleton.

Craig Scott was on Oprah earlier this week. As many Virginia Tech families try to cope with their losses, he offered some advice for others.

He says he thinks the media, the families and the community at Virginia Tech should focus on the positive.

"Where you choose to focus immediately is very important. What you're gonna choose to spend your time thinking about," Scott said on Oprah.

He also asked people to reflect on what is really important about this shooting. "Is it the actual event that day and the things that happened that day, or is it the years before that?" he asked on Oprah.

Now, Rachel's family travels around the country talking to high school students about how to make a positive impact in the world. But reports show some relatives of those who died at Columbine are questioning a judge's recent decision to seal information about the killers for 20 years.

The federal judge cited concerns about the release of testimony from their parents because it could encourage copycat killers.

The move has angered Columbine families and victims, because they say opening the files might help prevent more tragedies, like what happened earlier this week at Virginia Tech.

As families are dealing with both tragedies, Virginia's Governor declared Friday a "day of mourning" for the Virginia Tech Massacre. Churches and other organizations in Virginia and around the country were expected to hold a moment of silence at noon Friday to honor the 32 victims from Monday's massacre.

Until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting on an American school campus had been Columbine.