Shooting an elk = Shooting children?

From CBS:
Officers arrested in shooting of beloved elk in Boulder, Colo.

The relevant quote:

A vigil was held for the elk, which had been called Big Boy, George and Elmo by the neighborhood. Some even said they considered the animal to be a "guardian" of the community.
"I don't see a whole lot of difference between the shooting of this defenseless elk and the shooting of school children in Connecticut," one vigil attendee told KCNC.

The two officers were definitely in violation of game laws and gross stupidity to boot, but an elk does not equal one human life let alone 27 (20 children, six adult staff, and the killers mother).