CNN's Anderson Cooper opened his show Monday night by struggling to read the names of the men and women who died in the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub over the weekend.

Cooper said he would not mention the name of the killer nor would he show a picture of him, electing instead "to try to keep the focus where we think it belongs, on the people whose lives were cut short."

It does not take long for Cooper to lose his composure as he gives a brief description of each of the victims. He manages to work his way through the names, with his voice cracking several times throughout the more-than-eight-minute clip.

As the world continues to come to grips with what happened with shows of sympathy and solidarity Cooper's reading is a reminder that the victims are, as he said, "more than a list of names."