2012 — Dec 14, Violence, Mass Shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary, Newtown, CT[1]–27-28

–27-28  Chicago Tribune. “Dead in Connecticut school shooting include 20 children.” 12-14-2012.[2]

–27-28  Christoffersen and Noveck. “Sandy Hook School Shooting…” Huffington Post, 12-15-2012.

 

Dec 14, Chicago Tribune: “Newtown, Connecticut (Reuters) – A heavily armed gunman opened fire at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, killing 26 people including 20 children in the latest in a series of shooting rampages across the United States this year, U.S. media reported.

 

“The gunman was dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, state police Lieutenant Paul Vance told a news conference. Vance said there were 28 deaths in Connecticut – 20 children and seven adults from the school and another person connected to the suspect at a house in Newtown. The total included the shooter, who media said was a 24-year-old man. The New York Times reported that the gunman killed himself at the scene.

“One of the dead was the shooter’s mother, a teacher at the school, The New York Times reported, citing a law enforcement official. CNN reported that an official said there was an additional death – the brother of the suspected gunman in New Jersey – but this was not independently confirmed.

“The suspected gunman entered the school as children were gathered in their classrooms for morning meeting. He was armed with four weapons and wore a bullet-proof vest, WABC reported.

“If confirmed, it would be one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. The holiday season tragedy was the second shooting rampage in the United States this week and was certain to revive a debate about U.S. gun laws.

President Barack Obama, wiping away tears and pausing to collect his emotions, mourned the “beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old” who were killed.  “As a country we have been through this too many times,” Obama said, ticking off a list of recent shootings.  “We’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics,” Obama said in apparent reference to the influence of the National Rifle Association over members of Congress.  Obama remains committed to trying to renew a ban on assault weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

“Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots with some saying as many as 100 were fired.

“Another person was being held in police custody after he was detained in the woods near the school wearing camouflage pants, CBS reported.

 

“Sandy Hook Elementary School teaches children from kindergarten through fourth grade – roughly ages 5 to 10.

“It was horrendous,” said parent Brenda Lebinski, who rushed to the school where her daughter is in the third grade. “Everyone was in hysterics – parents, students. There were kids coming out of the school bloodied. I don’t know if they were shot, but they were bloodied.”

“Television images showed police and ambulances at the scene, and parents rushing toward the school. Parents were seen reuniting with their children and taking them home.  “This is going to be bad,” a state official told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the scope of the tragedy remained uncertain.

“Lebinski said a mother who was at the school during the shooting told her a “masked man” entered the principal’s office and may have shot the principal. Lebinski, who is friends with the mother who was at the school, said the principal was “severely injured”.” (Chicago Tribune. “Dead in Connecticut school shooting include 20 children.” 12-14-2012.)

 

Sources

 

Chicago Tribune. “Dead in Connecticut school shooting include 20 children.” 12-14-2012. Accessed 12-14-2012: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-connecticut-townsbre8bd0u1-20121214,0,7092900.story

 

Christoffersen, John and Jocelyn Noveck. “Sandy Hook School Shooting: Adam Lanza Kills 26 and Himself at Connecticut School.” Huffington Post, 12-15-2012. Accessed 12-15-20112 at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/15/sandy-hook-shooting_n_2306479.html

 

 

[1] Shooter killed 27 – 20 children, 6 adults at the school, plus his mother at home. Then committed suicide (#28).

[2] Twenty children and 6 adults at the school, the shooter suicide at the school, and shooter’s mother, separate cite.