Amidst the terror and fear inside the movie theater as a gunman sprayed bullets, there were also moments of heroism, as emerging stories show.

Matt McQuinn was one of the 12 killed in the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

McQuinn was attempting to provide cover for his girlfriend when he was hit, said a family attorney, Robert L. Scott.

He saved Samantha Yowler's life, though she was hit by a bullet, Scott said. She is recovering at the hospital.

More stories are expected to surface Saturday morning when police publicly release a list of the victims.

With song and prayer, shooting victims remembered

Grief counselors were available Saturday to help the bereaved in the Colorado shooting, hours after authorities started the dreadful task of notifying relatives of the victims of the movie theater massacre.

"It took about 19 hours to hear from law enforcement, which was agonizing and I thought just outright cruel to all the victims' families," said Anita Busch, who said her cousin, Micayla Medek, was among those killed. "We had been desperately trying to find her."

Families of the deceased had not been notified until Friday night because an active investigation was under way at the crime scene in Aurora, police said.

Alex Sullivan's relatives were also among those who got the dreaded news.

"The Sullivan family lost a cherished member of their family," a representative for the family said in a statement. "Alex was smart, funny, and above all loved dearly by his friends and family. Today was his 27th birthday."