1. US School Shootings

2. 14th December 2012Sandy Hook ElementarySchool in the SandyHook village of Newtown,Connecticut 3. Key Points Twenty children and six adults have been killed in ashooting attack at a primary school in the US state ofConnecticut. US media identified the gunman, who killed himself, asAdam Lanza - not his brother Ryan as initially reported. The school shooting occurred after he shot and killed hismother, a volunteer at the school, at their nearbyNewtown home. It was the second-deadliest schoolshooting in U.S. history, after the 2007 Virginia Techmassacre. After shooting his mother, Nancy Lanza, age 54, Adamdrove her car to the school. The killing of Nancy Lanzabrought the number of victims to 27. President Obama says our hearts are broken today ashe pays tribute to the victims 4. Background of Sandy HookElementary School The school had a total of 700 students in grades K4.According to a letter sent to parents at the beginning ofthe year, the school had recently upgraded its securityprotocol, requiring visitors to be individually admittedafter visual and identification review over a videomonitor; the doors were locked at 9:30 am each dayafter morning arrivals 5. Shooting A troubled 20-year-old loner with a history of autistic behavior is the monster behind ahorrific shooting Adam Lanza may have been admitted to the school by the principal because he wasrecognized as the son of a colleague. He was described as wearing black military-style gear,including a bullet-proof vest and a mask during the shootings. A troubled 20-year-old loner with a history of autistic behavior is the monster behind ahorrific shootingHe started shooting at about 9:35 a.m., approximately half an hour after the school daybegan. Some of those present reported that initial shots were heard on the schools intercomsystem, which was being used for morning announcements. Most of the shooting took place in two first-grade classrooms and lasted only a few minutes,during which time witnesses said the shooter did not say a word. He then shot himself. The children killed were between 5 and 10 years old. A custodian also ran through hallways alerting classrooms in person. First grade teacherKaitlyn Roig, age 29, hid 14 of the schools approximately 450 grade K-4 students in abathroom and barricaded the door, telling them to be completely quiet in order to keep themsafe. Authorities recovered two 9mm handguns from the scene: one a Glock, and the other a SIGSauer. A .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle (favored by deer hunters) was found in the back of acar in the parking lot. Police sources said a mind numbing number of spent cartridges littered the floor of theschool. The guns were owned by and legally registered to Lanzas mother. As Adam Lanza was under21 years of age at the time of the incident, he could not legally have obtained or possessedeither handgun in Connecticut. Connecticut is ranked as having the fifth-toughest gun-control laws in the country by theBrady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, with a score of 58 out of 100 points. 6. Response by authorities The state police received the first 911 call at 9:41 am andresponded immediately.They and Newtown police soon recognized the gravity ofthe situation, and local K9 and tactical units, the bombsquad, and state police helicopter were quickly mobilized. Police began to evacuate the locked-down school room-by-room, escorting groups of students and adults away fromthe school.The school was swept for additional shooters at least fourtimes by the police. No shots were fired by the authorities. Three injured victims were evacuated; two were laterdeclared dead of their injuries. The New York City medical examiner dispatched a "portablemorgue" to assist with the aftermath 7. Photos from the scene showed young students - somecrying, others looking visibly frightened - being escorted byadults through a car park in a line, with hands on eachothers shoulders. "It was horrendous," said parent Brenda Lebinski, whorushed to the school where her daughter is in the thirdgrade. "Everyone was in hysterics - parents, students.There were kids coming out of the school bloodied. I dontknow if they were shot, but they were bloodied." Television images showed police and ambulances at thescene, and parents rushing toward the school. Parents wereseen reuniting with their children and taking them home. A girl interviewed by NBC Connecticut described hearingseven loud "booms" as she was in gym class. Other childrenbegan crying and teachers moved the students to a nearbyoffice, she said. "A police officer came in and told us to run outside and sowe did," the unidentified girl said on camera. 8. TIMELINE OF A MASSACRE: HOW THE INVESTIGATION UNFOLDED Friday morning Adam Lanza leaves his home in his mothers car after shooting her dead 9.30am Classes begin at Sandy Hook Elementary School 9.35am First 911 calls that a shooting is underway; police arrive within minutes 9.40am Shooting underway at the schools main office and a kindergarten class 9.45am SWAT team arrives; checks building 10am Reports of deaths begin to trickle out; Obama is briefed 10.30am Police announce the shooter is dead; later revealed he died from a self-inflictedgun wound 12.10pm First reports mistakenly naming killer as Ryan Lanza, 24 2.47pm President Obama orders flags to fly at half-mast 1.08pm Reports that the death toll is at 27; at press conference, police say deaths includestaff and students 2pm Authorities announce a body was discovered at killers Newtown home 2.40pm Reports of investigation at Ryan Lanzas home in New Jersey; he writes onFacebook that he was not involved and is later led away for questioning 3.17pm President Obama addresses the nation and struggles to contain his emotions 5pm Adam Lanza is named as the shooter 7pm Prayer vigil held at St Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown; hundreds attend,including Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy 9. A TROUBLED LONER: EMERGINGPORTRAIT OF ADAM LANZA Ryan Lanzas high school classmates always knew something was different about him. He almost never spoke in class, but made good grades and was an honors student. And healways seemed profoundly uncomfortable in social situations. A portrait is emerging of the alleged shooter who killed 26 people and himself during a rampageat the elementary school where his mother taught kindergarten. It was widely understood that he had mental disabilities - either Asperger syndrome or moresevere autism. A former babysitter told the Washington Post he was rambunctious as a teenager and prone totemper tantrums. He had to be medicated to control his moods. Olivia DeVivo, a student at the University of Connecticut who went to high school with Lanza,said that when it emerged that he was suspected of gunning down 20 small children - none ofher classmates were surprised. They said he always seemed like he was someone who was capable of that because he justdidnt really connect with our high school, and didnt really connect with our town, she toldthe New York Times Lamza, 20, lived with his mother Nancy in a quiet, upscale subdivision in Newtown,Connecticut. Before his alleged rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, he reportedly shot hismother in the face at her home. He then took her car and three guns registered registered toher and went on a killing spree - starting with her kindergarten class, police say.Students described being ushered from their classrooms hand-in-hand, with their eyes closed,to the safety of a nearby fire station as police converged on the school. 10. ADAM LANZA 11. The family of alleged shooter Adam Lanza, including his father,Peter, second left 12. President Obamas Speech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIA0W69U2_Y&list=PL8C61A61D646F0865&index=1 13. ABC news coverage of the shootingshttp://abcnews.go.com/US/27-people-dead-children-connecticut-elementary-school-shooting/story?id=17973836#.UMyVA2_ZaSoUSA Newshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pe3murLF4whttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XfEpWCqwbc 14. Queen Elizabeths Response toShootings The Queen has sent a message to US President Barack Obama, sayingshe was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the US school massacre thatleft 28 people dead, in a rare public response to the tragedy. In a message beginning "Dear President Obama", the 86-year-oldmonarch said: "I have been deeply shocked and saddened to learn of thedreadful loss of life today in Newtown, Connecticut; particularly the newsthat so many of the dead are children. The queen, who never gives interviews and normally restricts her publiccomment to events in Commonwealth nations, added: "Prince Philip joinsme in extending our heartfelt sympathy to you and the American peopleat this difficult time. "The thoughts and prayers of everyone in the United Kingdom andthroughout the Commonwealth are with the families and friends of thosekilled and with all those who have been affected by todays events. The message was signed Elizabeth R. Her words echoed those of Prime Minister David Cameron, who earliersaid he was "shocked and deeply saddened to hear about todays horrificshooting". 15. On the day of the attack, Google paid tribute to thevictims by displaying an image of a candle on itshomepage accompanied with the line "Our hearts arewith the families and community ofNewtown, Connecticut. 16. Reactions and Photosfrom the Scene 17. Principal Dawn Hochsprung tweeted this pic two monthsago along with the message Sandy Hook gardenerscelebrate their learning after the fall harvest! 18. Principal Hochsprung tweeted: Safety first at SandyHook... Its a beautiful day for our annual evacuationdrill! 19. Victims 20. Dawn Hochsprung 21. Dawn Hochsprung, Schoolprincipal Dawn led the almost 700-pupil school according to the values she had long espoused:inclusiveness, creativity, and academic ambition. As confirmation that she was among the dead circulated in the small community of Newtown,where the school that she had led for the past two years is one of the central pillars, there wasan outpouring of emotion from the parents of her charges and friends. "Dawn Hochsprungtouched many of our hearts with her professionalism and love for her students," said someone Dawn Czaplicki, who had known the principal since their own high school days, rememberedher as "a mature and very smart young lady full of life and always had a smile on her face thatcould only warm your heart." In the two years that she led the Sandy Hook elementary, Hochsprung, 47, had emphasised itsstrong community role. When she sent memos to parents she would address them to the"Sandy Hook family". Hochsprung was ambitious for her students and for herself. On top of running the school, andbeing mother to her own two daughters and three stepdaughters, she had enrolled in a post-graduate programme at Esteves School of Education in New York a prestigious course for aneducator. She was actively introducing the latest teaching techniques into Sandy Hookclassrooms she recently brought together 30 teachers before the start of the school day foran "Appy Hour" in which they shared notes about the best iPad apps to use with students. But she also believed in the power of imagination and fun. The New York Times recorded thatshe had introduced a tradition of Wacky Wednesdays, when students came to school wearingclothes Hochsprung took a close interest in education policy, and would often circulate speeches by theeducation secretary, Arne Duncan.Her most recent activity on Twitter was the day before she died, when she retweeted a nine-point programme on how to relieve stress. Point one was "Have self-compassion." 22. Victoria Soto 23. Victoria Soto, First Grade Teacher A young teacher displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed herlife saving as many children in her first grade class as she couldafter she came face-to-face with gunman Adam Lanza. Victoria Soto, 27, had worked at Sandy Hook Elementary for fiveyears. Her final moments were spent ushering her students intoclosets and cupboards. When Lanza entered her classroom Ms Sotosaid that her class was in the gym hall and then Lanza took a gunand shot her. All of Ms Sotos class survived. Soto was a highly regarded young teacher who was popular with herpupils. One young student, Jacob Riley, told Mailonline that Sotowas known for chewing gum in class - something not usuallyallowed for teachers. He said he had often teased her about herhabit and she had playfully teased him back A deeply distraught 10-year-old boy who is a former student of MissSoto described her as really nice and funny. 24. Nancy LanzaMother of the gunman, Adam Lanza 25. school psychologist March Sherlach, r,was killed after confronting theConnecticut school gunman 26. Anne Marie MurphyA teacher at the school 27. Lauren Rousseau 28. Rachel Davino 29. Emilie Alice Parker 30. Ana Marquez-Greene 31. Jessica Rekos 32. Avielle Richman 33. Olivia Engel, 6 34. Josephine Gay, 7 35. Olivia Rose Engel 36. Caroline Previdi 37. Grace McDonnell 38. Charlotte Bacon 39. Catherine Hubbard 40. Daniel Barden 41. Dylan Hockley 42. Benjamin Wheeler 43. James Mattioli, 6 44. Jack Pinto 45. Noah Pozner 46. Jesse Lewis 47. Chase Kowalski 48. Daniel Barden 49. May peace be with theseinnocent children and adults,Who were so cruelly takenaway by a tragedy that will be remembered for ever.Rest In Peace