The staff of The Denver Post won the highest honor in journalism Monday for its coverage of the Aurora movie theater massacre.

The newspaper received the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for its print and digital efforts documenting the mass shooting that yet again put Colorado in the spotlight for an unspeakable tragedy.

Twelve people were killed, and at least 58 others were injured when a gunman walked into Theater 9 at the Century Aurora 16 theaters and began firing during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The youngest victim was 6, the oldest 51.

“We all wish July 20 never happened, but it did, and I could not be more proud of The Denver Post for its exhaustive and creative coverage,” said Post editor Gregory L. Moore. “It is a great achievement to have that work honored with a Pulitzer Prize.”

The Post announced it will donate the $10,000 from the prize to the Aurora Mental Health Center and the Bonfils Blood Center.

Linda Shapley, the Post’s director of newsroom operations, said the goal was to give the money to nonprofit organizations that played a direct role in helping in the aftermath of the shooting.

The recipients were chosen with input from The Denver Post Community Foundation, she said.

The Post’s winning entry included reporting, photography and video work that was shared online, through social media and in print.

The Pulitzer citation singled out the Post staff for using tools such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as video and written reports.

The prize recognizes “a distinguished example of local reporting of breaking news that, as quickly as possible, captures events accurately as they occur, and, as time passes, illuminates, provides context and expands upon the initial coverage.”

The entire newsroom was involved, beginning with a calm dispatch call reporting shots fired when just one person was in the newsroom and continuing through the early days of the community’s response.

“The only thing worse than having to cover a story like this would be to not step up for your community,” said Kevin Dale, The Post’s news director. “We are proud of the entire staff of The Denver Post, who worked around the clock as the tragedy unfolded to inform the community and document the early process of recovery.”

The Post also won a breaking news Pulitzer for its coverage of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre that left 12 students and one teacher dead.

The Post was a finalist in two other Pulitzer categories this year: the breaking news photography category for coverage of the Aurora shootings and in breaking news for coverage of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs.

This marks the fourth consecutive year Denver Post journalists have won Pulitzer prizes.

In 2012, Craig F. Walker was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for his work chronicling the story of a veteran returning home from Iraq and struggling with severe post-traumatic stress. Walker also won a Pulitzer in 2010 for his photographs of a teenager who joined the Army at the height of the insurgent violence in Iraq.

In 2011, Mike Keefe was awarded a Pulitzer for his editorial cartoons.