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It was such a thrill to be named an author. I did not expect the day to end as it did.
Newtown is not 15 miles from where we live. A teacher we know taught at Sandy Hook school but now teaches at the middle school. One of his students lost a sibling. My wife’s sister’s father in law was Principal at the school for some time. He is devastated but is intent on helping restore the school.
Sadness pervades the air in the state. It is the same sense of loss we felt in the aftermath of 9-11. I have been trying to organize intelligible something to write- and I am not sure I yet have.
Our first notification was one of a shooting at the school and that the gunman was dead.
So far, so good.
I left to run some errands and when I returned home the death toll was over 20 and most were children. And it only got worse.
There have been all kinds of reports fraught with error.
What seems accurate at this point is that the weapons were all legal. One of the first things to go through our minds was “How did this kid get hold of them?” Why were they not locked up or why were there no trigger locks?
It also is pretty obvious that shooter was not mentally well.
At Newtown High School, Adam Lanza had trouble relating to fellow students and teachers, but that was only part of his problem. He seemed not to feel physical or psychological pain in the same way as classmates.
Richard Novia, the school district’s head of security until 2008, who also served as adviser for the school technology club, said Lanza clearly “had some disabilities.”
“If that boy would’ve burned himself, he would not have known it or felt it physically,” Novia told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “It was my job to pay close attention to that.”
Novia was responsible for monitoring students as they used soldering tools and other potentially dangerous electrical equipment.
He recalled meeting with school guidance counselors, administrators and with the boy’s mother, Nancy Lanza, to understand his problems and find ways to ensure his safety. But there were other crises only a mother could solve.
“He would have an episode, and she’d have to return or come to the high school and deal with it,” Novia said, describing how the young man would sometimes withdraw completely “from whatever he was supposed to be doing,” whether it was sitting in class or reading a book.
Adam Lanza “could take flight, which I think was the big issue, and it wasn’t a rebellious or defiant thing,” Novia said. “It was withdrawal.”
Most victims were shot with the rifle- suffering 3 to 11 wounds each. That’s overkill on a large scale. 11 rounds from a rifle in a 6 year old. It’s gut wrenching.
Unimaginable.
It is also reported that Lanza shot his mother in the face. If so, that makes the killing very personal.
Here are the victims and some background. It’s worth your time.
Nancy Lanza was reportedly a gun enthusiast and is said to have taken Adam to gun ranges to learn how to shoot.
There is also mention of a possible altercation at the school the day before the shooting.
There have been all kinds of calls for more and stricter gun control:
Terrible news today. When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons? As in Oz after similar tragedy.
None of the weapons used in this tragedy were automatic.
Lanza reportedly tried to purchase a rifle from Dick’s Sporting Goods but was refused.
Possession of semi-automatic handguns and rifles seem an inappropriate therapy for mentally disturbed individuals. Hopefully among the cacophony about the weapons a sensible policy for the mentally ill will emerge. That’s very likely what this really is about.
That and the responsible handling of weapons.
This just knocks the stuffing out of you. I this post makes a little sense.