Wednesday 2013/05/22
Multimedia & Live Stream

USA

Connecticut Mourns Mass Shooting Victims

Mourners grieve at one of the makeshift memorials for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn.Mourners grieve at one of the makeshift memorials for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn.
x
Mourners grieve at one of the makeshift memorials for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn.
Mourners grieve at one of the makeshift memorials for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn.
TEXT SIZE - +

17.12.2012

NEW YORK — Newtown, Connecticut, residents laid wreaths and held prayer services Sunday as officials offered new details to the shooting. They said that 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, shooting her four times in the head, and then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where investigators believe he was once enrolled.

Carrying an assault rifle and two automatic handguns that had belonged to his mother, he shot his way in, firing bullets at school staff in the hallway and then at children and teachers in two classrooms. In less than ten minutes, twenty children, six and seven years old, and six women were killed.

Officials said Lanza brought enough ammunition to kill everyone in the school, but was interrupted. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy told ABC that Lanza committed suicide as police and other first responders arrived on the scene.

"We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and apparently at that, decided to take his own life,” said Malloy.

  • US President Barack Obama speaks at a memorial service for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
  • A pair of angel wings and balloons stand after being offered at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
  • Twenty-seven wooden angel figures are seen placed in a wooded area beside a road near the Sandy Hook Elementary School for the victims of a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
  • Ava Staiti, 7, of New Milford, Conn., looks up at her mother Emily Staiti, not pictured, while visiting a sidewalk memorial with 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, December 16, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.
  • Mourners gather for a candlelight vigil at Ram's Pasture to remember shooting victims, December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
  • A woman reacts while paying respects for shooting victims at a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, December 16, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.
  • A young child points at candles as people pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
  • People gather at a memorial for victims near the school on the first Sunday following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
  • Residents hold a candlelight vigil outside Newtown High School after President Barack Obama delivered remarks at an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, December 16, 2012.
  • Varinder Singh, of the Queens borough of New York, joins a group of Sikhs from around the Northeastern U.S., in a moment of prayer as a memorial service is broadcast over a loudspeaker outside Newtown High School, December 16, 2012.
  • A young child points at candles as people pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
  • Kate Suba, left, Jaden Albrecht, center, and Simran Chand pay their respects at one of the makeshift memorials in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sunday, December 16, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.
◀
▶
⏪ ▶ || ⏩ 1/12
  ⇱ Disable Captions Enable Captions

The massacre of children, one of 10 mass shootings in the U.S. in just the last two years, has stunned the country. Patty Boswell drove to Newtown from New York to share in the mourning.

"I can’t -- they are babies, they are just babies,” she said.

Recent Mass Shootings in the United States

  • July 2012: A gunman kills 12 people during a showing of Batman  in Colorado.
  • January 2011: A gunman kills six people and wounds U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona.
  • November 2009: A U.S. Army psychiatrist kills 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas.
  • April 2007: A Virginia Tech student kills 32 people before committing suicide.
  • April 1999: Two Columbine High School students kill 12 students, one teacher and themselves in Colorado.
"I think something has to be done," said Connecticut resident Yvonne Diallo who echoed the thoughts of many. "Something definitely has to be done. We can't live like this. This is worse than a third-world country. We can't ... they don't do this to their kids anywhere."

Her words were mirrored by President Obama, who came to Newtown Sunday night to participate in an interfaith service for the victims.

 “We cannot tolerate this anymore," he said. "These tragedies must end, and to end them, we must change.”

The first funerals for the victims will take place Monday, with others scheduled for later in the week.
This forum has been closed.
Comments
     
There are no comments in this forum. Be first and add one

Latest News

Loading
12:00:00 / -:--:--
⎚
Download