The country mourns in wake of another senseless shooting
By Frederick H. Lowe
On Friday, December 14, 2012 a gunman shot to death 27 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, in a rampage that President Barack Obama said has horrified the country.
Police identified the gunman as Adam Lanza, 20, who was found dead in the school. Lanza’s mother, Nancy, a kindergarten teacher at Sandy Hook, was also killed in a residence near the school. At the time of this writing, it is not known whether the residence where Nancy Lanza’s body was found was her residence, her son Adam’s residence or a home they shared.
Lt. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police, told reporters during a news conference that police checked every room of the school. Among the dead are teachers and administrators.
Police said the shooter was armed with two to four guns. He wore a bullet proof vest and dark clothing, according to unconfirmed news reports.
Newtown police received a call a little after 9:30 a.m. about the shooting, Lt. Vance said .
Local police, state police and police from surrounding towns quickly converged on Sandy Hook Elementary School. Approximately 626 students are enrolled in kindergarten through 4th grade classes at Sandy Hook. There are 46 faculty members.
President Obama wiped tears from his eyes as he discussed the shooting. “They had their entire lives ahead of them, birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own,” the president said. He added that he was heartbroken for the parents of surviving children who were forced to live through the incident.
President Obama also alluded to other recent mass shootings. There have been five since he took office in 2009.
“As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora or a street corner in Chicago— these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children,” the president said.
Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, that was founded in 1705. Its population is over 27,000 and is 95 percent white. The median income for a household in Newtown is $90,193, and the median income for a family was $99,192, according to data collected in 2007.
