Site of Conn. Shooting Becomes Tourist Attraction

Some residents say they like tourist crowd better than the media hoards

The Sandy Hook section of Newtown, Conn. is changed forever. This weekend neighborhood was a gathering place for hundred of out-of-towners who wanted to see the site of a deadly massacre and mourn with the community. On Sunday, the downtown village was clogged with traffic. Cars driving through had license plates from all across New England and beyond, The Associated Press reports. Some residents said they preferred the tourists to the hoards of photographers and reports, who flooded the town following the Dec. 14 shooting massacre that left 20 schoolchildren and six adult dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School. (AP)

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Season of Peace

Remembering those who've lost loved ones due to America's gun violence epidemic

It’s official: the holidays are here.  People are busying themselves with the last few days of Christmas shopping, maybe picking out gifts for Kwanzaa, making plans for the New Year and most importantly getting ready to celebrate life with family, friends and loved ones.  But as many in the nation are preparing for this joyous time of celebration, there are people who are grieving the absence of loved ones who should be celebrating with them. The sad reality is that while many will immediately read that and think about the victims and families in the shooting in Newtown, Conn., there have been far too many other lives lost across this country due to gun violence. Not only will the families of Ana Marquez-Green, Noah Pozner, or Victoria Soto of the Sandy Hook shooting be left to fill the void, but so will the families of Heaven Sutton, Lloyd Morgan Jr., Trayvon Martin and many others. 

There are some who feel this latest tragedy was somehow different, and while the circumstances in shootings are rarely alike, the truth is the deaths of all those victims are the same.  Each one of them shot and killed when they shouldn’t have been. Whether accidental or intentional, the pain and suffering their families feel is the same, and likely to a greater degree during this holiday season.  There will be no request of toys or electronics, no unwrapping of gifts with elation; there will be no ringing in of the New Year for any of them. Yes, the details may be different, but the resulting absence is the same. 

When people hear stories of a child like Heaven Sutton or Lloyd Morgan Jr. being killed, there’s sadness, but for some, it wasn’t motivation to act.  It is almost as if people see gun violence as an unfortunate part of life that working-class urbanites have to contend with. What people are coming to learn is that gun violence isn’t a black or Latino problem, it isn’t an urban problem, and it isn’t a mental health problem. 

Gun violence is an American problem. 

Black Leaders React to Shooting Tragedy in Connecticut

REV. AL SHARPTON -- “These guns must be challenged by all of those who respect human life. We must send a united message to this country to stop making easy access of high-powered weapons and stop cutting mental illness programs,” Sharpton said. “We have to stand together and stop it now.” Getty Image

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Many are renewing calls for gun control

Black leaders seemed to know they couldn’t stay silent after the tragic mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week, when 20 schoolchildren and six adults were mowed down by a lone gunman.

While the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, as tragic as any calculated massacre, occurred in just minutes, many black leaders are all too familiar with the toll guns take in urban communities where gun violence happens daily. Leaders there are all too familiar with the funerals, the calls for stopping the violence and the inaction on the part of national politicians.

Many of them aren’t allowing the Connecticut shooting to pass through the news cycle without renewing their calls for action on gun violence – a call that President Barack Obama seemed to make in his first remarks following the tragedy.

That’s certainly what civil rights activist and MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton aimed to do Tuesday night, during a special service for the Connecticut shooting victims at Zion Baptist Church in the neighboring Waterbury, Conn.

Blacks are six times more likely than whites to be victims of violent crime, according to a 2011 U.S. Justice Department study, which also found that 93 percent of black are killed by another black person.

View statements from Sharpton and other black leaders, including President Obama, by clicking through the photo gallery above.

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VP Biden to Head White House’s Gun Policy Push

Obama’s second-in-command will lead efforts to address Newtown tragedy

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will announce that Vice President Joe Biden will lead the administration’s effort to address gun violence, amid calls for action following the mass shooting of 20 school children in a Connecticut elementary school last week. The president’s announcement will not include any policy decision but instead lay out the process for achieving new policies, White House aides said. The Connecticut massacre is the fourth shooting rampage in the U.S. this year. Last Sunday, Obama told mourners that he would “use whatever power [his] office” holds to prevent more tragedies, which could include stricter gun control measures. The administration is undoubtedly prepared for fierce pushback from gun rights advocates, including the powerful National Rifle Association, who believe the constitution guarantees them the right to bear arms. (Reuters)

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Utah Boy, Scared By Conn. Shooting, Brings Gun To School

Sixth-grader has been detained on assault and weapons charges

An 11-year-old Salt Lake City, Utah boy, who said he brought a gun to school to protect himself from a Connecticut-style attack, has been detained and charged with possession of a deadly weapon on school property, a school spokesman said on Tuesday. The sixth-grader, who is not being named publicly, took an unloaded .22-caliber handgun to school in his backpack on Monday, then pointed the weapon at three classmates during recess. Some ammunition was found in his backpack, but the rounds did not appear to go with the gun. No one was injured in the incident, which undoubtedly jolted the school’s community, as the nation remained shocked by the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. last week. The boy was briefly questioned and spent Monday night in juvenile detention on the possession charge and on three counts of aggravated assault for brandishing the weapon at classmates. He was also suspended from school indefinitely. Last Friday, a 20-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into the Connecticut school and killed 6- and 7-year-old schoolchildren, before turning the gun on himself. (Reuters)

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National Rifle Association Breaks Its Silence on Newtown

Families prepare to bury six more mass shooting victims

The National Rifle Association broke its silence on Tuesday, four days after a mass shooting in Connecticut killed 20 elementary schoolchildren and six adults. The usually vocal gun rights lobbying group released a brief statement on the shooting.

“The National Rifle Association of America is made up of four million moms and dads, sons and daughters – and we were shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown,” reads the statement posted to its website. “The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.”

The group said it would hold a major press conference in the nation’s capitol on Friday, but offered no other details.

The statement comes as families of the victims killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week prepare to bury six more victims. The family of Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung plans to hold a public wake on Wednesday afternoon, but her burial will be private. Sandy Hook teacher Victoria Soto, whose family gave a public wake on Tuesday, will be buried on Wednesday. Services were also scheduled for 6-year-olds Charlotte Bacon and Caroline Previdi, and 7-year-olds Daniel Barden and Chase Kowalski.

Last Friday, police officials say 20-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary school and killed 6- and 7-year-olds and school staff, before turning the gun on himself. (Reuters + New York Times)

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More Funerals for Conn. Shooting Victims, Classes Resume

Security beefed up at Newtown district schools, but Sandy Hook students remain home

The small grief-stricken town of Newtown, Conn. will on Tuesday continue a long and unbearable grieving period, with more funerals and wakes for victims of last week’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. One funeral is scheduled for 6-year-old student Jessica Rekos. Several wakes are scheduled for other slain victims, including heroic teacher Victoria Soto, who reportedly shielded her students from bullets by standing in front of the closet she hid them in. On Monday, families buried 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto. Classes for students in the Newtown school district  were resuming on Tuesday, but Sandy Hook remained closed. Last Friday, a young gunman forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults, before turning the gun on himself. (The Associated Press)

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Obama Signals He’ll Try Gun Control In Second Term

In response to horrific gun violence in Conn., president pledges more action

President Barack Obama on Sunday made a promise to the nation and to the mourning residents of Newtown, Conn., which last Friday witnessed the mass murder of 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this,” Obama said in remarks during a prayer vigil. Although he offered few specifics and did not utter the words gun control, Obama is already facing pressure from within the Democratic Party to prioritize changes to gun control laws and safety measures. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said Sunday that she would introduce legislation next year to reinstitute the ban on new assault weapons, a federal law that expired in 2004. Her legislation will also include bans on big clips, drums and strips of more than 10 bullets. During his re-election campaign, the president mentioned the assault weapons ban, but did not say how seriously he would take up new measures. (Associated Press)

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America the Beautiful? I Don’t Know About That

I’ve lived to see so much gun violence that I question the greatness of our nation

The views expressed in this Op-Ed do not necessarily reflect those of Loop 21.

I’m 27.

I only share that number to give context to the following numbers: 60, the number of school shootings that have been reported since my birth; 4, the number of mass shootings I’ve written about this year; 100,000, the number of people shot or killed in the U.S. per year on average; and 0, the number of times I’ve felt like someone actually wanted to do something “meaningful” to prevent any of it.

With Friday’s horrific mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., where a young gunman took the lives of 20 children and six adults at a public elementary school, I felt we waded into territory that confirms that we as a nation aren’t nearly as mighty as we purport to be.

How is it that a nation which is able to put a man on the moon, foster innovators who create the world’s most popular consumer technologies, and go from enslaving Africans to electing (and re-electing) its first black president, can’t muster the political will to protect the most innocent among us from being shot multiple times with a semi-automatic assault rifle at school?

President Barack Obama seemed to echo that sentiment in his remarks at an interfaith prayer vigil in Connecticut on Sunday.

“Can we truly say, as a nation, that we are meeting our obligations?” he poignantly asked before an audience of solemn and sobbing Connecticut residents. “Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children -- all of them -- safe from harm?”

He continued: “I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no. We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change.… We can’t tolerate this anymore. Surely, we can do better than this.”

[ALSO READ: Full Text of Obama's Remarks]

Well said. But I don’t believe him. Obama, who arguably gives some of the best speeches on occasions like these, is just like all other presidents before him in this regard. He governs a nation that has yet to show -- by any noticeable metric -- when and where we have done better.

Funerals Begin for Conn. Shooting Victims

Town starts week with first two of 20 funerals for the slain schoolchildren

The small town of Newtown, Conn. will on Monday bury the first two of 20 schoolchildren killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week. Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both 6, will have funeral services on Monday afternoon. Noah, the youngest victim, was described as an “inquisitive” boy who was particularly mature for his age. Jack was a wrestler who loved sports. Schools in Newtown are not reopening on Monday. The district is giving teachers time to prepare for their students’ return. The town’s youth sports groups have instead set up a field day to keep kids occupied with athletics, board games and arts and crafts. When students do return to school, the survivors from Sandy Hook Elementary will attend classes in an empty school the next town over. On Friday, a lone gunman stormed their campus and killed 20 of their schoolmates and six adults who worked there, before fatally shooting himself. (Reuters)

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Full Text of Obama's Conn. Shooting Memorial Remarks

President delivers moving speech days after community loses 20 children in shooting spree

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AT SANDY HOOK INTERFAITH PRAYER VIGIL

Newtown High School

Newtown, Connecticut

8:37 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Governor.  To all the families, first responders, to the community of Newtown, clergy, guests -- Scripture tells us:  “…do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away…inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

We gather here in memory of twenty beautiful children and six remarkable adults.  They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school; in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America.

Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation.  I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts.  I can only hope it helps for you to know that you’re not alone in your grief; that our world too has been torn apart; that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you, we’ve pulled our children tight.  And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide; whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it.  Newtown -- you are not alone.

As these difficult days have unfolded, you’ve also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice.  We know that when danger arrived in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school’s staff did not flinch, they did not hesitate.  Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Rousseau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy -- they responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances -- with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care.

We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms, and kept steady through it all, and reassured their students by saying “wait for the good guys, they’re coming”; “show me your smile.” 

And we know that good guys came.  The first responders who raced to the scene, helping to guide those in harm’s way to safety, and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock and trauma because they had a job to do, and others needed them more.

[ALSO SEE: Video of Obama's Sandy Hook Remarks]

And then there were the scenes of the schoolchildren, helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do; one child even trying to encourage a grown-up by saying, “I know karate.  So it’s okay.  I’ll lead the way out.”  (Laughter.)

ICYMI: President Obama's Speech at the Conn. Shooting Memorial

While comforting families of the slain, president pledges action within his power to prevent more tragedies

President Barack Obama on Sunday comforted the mourning residents of Newtown, Conn. and spoke to the nation, after the weekend shooting spree that killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Among other things, Obama suggested he would do something very soon that addresses gun control in the U.S.. View video of full speech in the video player above. 

[MORE COVERAGE ON GUN CONTROL]

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WATCH LIVE: President Obama Speaks at Conn. Shooting Memorial

Commander-in-chief will again play the role of comforter at 7 PM EST

President Barack Obama on Sunday will address the small community of Newtown, Conn., just days after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Watch the president's remarks live in the video player above. Follow along and tweet your thoughts with us, @theloop21. We'll be using the "#CTShooting" hashtag.

[ALSO READ: U.S. Presidents & Gun Violence]

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20 Kids, 6 Adults Killed at Conn. Elementary School

Massacre is second-worst mass school shooting in U.S. history

A man opened fire Friday morning inside an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., where his mother perhaps taught or volunteered, killing 20 children and six adults before taking his own life, authorities said. A seventh adult was found dead inside the family home of the shooter not far from the school.

The shooting was the second-worst school massacre in U.S. history, with the death toll greater than that of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School outside Denver, when two teenage shooters killed 13 people before killing themselves. The massacre that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech in 2007 was the deadliest of U.S. school shootings, with 33 people left dead.

Numerous media reports including NBC, ABC and the Associated Press, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, identified the shooter as Adam Lanza, 20. He was found dead following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, after apparently killing himself, the AP reported.

President Barack Obama addressed the nation Friday afternoon, as he ordered U.S. flags flown at half staff at all government buildings and U.S. embassies around the world.

“Our hearts are broken today,” Obama said, visibly tearing up and wiping at his eyes.

"As a country we have been through this too many times," said the president, citing recent violence in the U.S. from the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., to the gun violence plaguing the streets of Chicago. “We have to take meaningful action to prevent these actions from happening again, regardless of the politics."

NBC News reported the shooter wore all black and was armed witih two 9 mm handguns, which were recovered at the school. An official said a .223-caliber rifle was also used in the attack.

[ALSO READ: U.S. Presidents & Gun Violence]

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Pres. Obama's Tearful Statement on Conn. School Shooting

Commander-in-chief wipes away tears, calls for "meaningful action" on national gun violence

On Friday afternoon, President Barack Obama delivered a statement from the White House, addressing the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. View video of the statement above, in which the president is visibly tearing up and wiping at his eyes.

Transcript of Obama's remarks:

This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller.  I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families.

 

We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years.  And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would -- as a parent.  And that was especially true today.  I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do. 

 

The majority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.  They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.  Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. 

 

So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost.  Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain. 

 

As a country, we have been through this too many times.  Whether it’s 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.  And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.

 

This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and we’ll tell them that we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another.  But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight.  And they need all of us right now.  In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans.  And I will do everything in my power as President to help.

 

Because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need -- to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories but also in ours.

 

May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

[ALSO READ: U.S. Presidents & Gun Violence]

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