Nearly 30 shot dead in CT elementary school

[Presto-digitation]

18 + children (mostly kindergarteners) and 8 adults, including the shooter.

 

Killer: Early 20s, Ryan Lanza, from Newtown, CT. Student at Quinnipiac in NY. Lives in Hoboken, New Jersey. Went to the school where his mother worked, killed her and most of her entire class. They think he shot his father at the parent's house first.

 

Picture taken 5 days ago:

 

(deleted)

Edited December 14, 2012 by Presto-digitation

[Presto-digitation]

The comment that was left on this photo freaks me out: Look like you're about to buy an Ale, but then paint a picture of it... very mixed... all good, though. Kinda like if Solid Snake was wearing a Neo trenchcoat. This can only turn out awesome.

[Presto-digitation]

This guy's facebook page has now been taken down.

[Presto-digitation]

After the media outlets reported for 4 hours that the suspect's name was Ryan Lanza, it turns out that the suspect is this fellow's younger brother Adam is the killer and that Ryan (shown here) has been brought in for questioning.

[Principled Man]

Presto, I don't want to see any pictures of the dirtbag. I don't want to know what he looks like at all. I don't even want to know his name.

 

THIS is why he slaughtered all those children - to get attention, to be recognized, to never be forgotten.

 

Don't let him have his way.

[Presto-digitation]

Well it's a picture of his brother, so you got your wish.

 

Such an unbelievable thing as this. I can't possibly imagine what could make anyone aim a gun (or anything) at children. It's something you just wish was beyond reality.

[invisible airwave]

There's a special place in hell for this homicidal coward. Thoughts and prayers to those affected and friends and family of the victims.

[Mr. Not]

Sick of this. Really sick of this.

 

Recently there was a mall shooting where 2 died. I thought to myself "Another monthly to yearly event... Not so bad..."

 

But no, I was being a bit too optimistic. This is probably the worst shooting in history.

[ColdFireYYZ]

I still can't comprehend how anyone could do something like this. My thoughts are with the victims' families and all who were affected by this tragedy.

[sundog]

Tragic. Disheartening. Sad, none seem to be strong enough to really express what is being felt by the heart.

The world mourns.

Hug your own kids a little tighter tonight, no place is sacred.

[lerxt1990]

terrible. inexplicable.

[WIDE-ANGLE WATCHER]

I have an indescribable pain......as a parent....as a human.

 

Hug your kids.

 

Pray for the victim's families.

[RUSHHEAD666]

I have an indescribable pain......as a parent....as a human.

 

Hug your kids.

 

Pray for the victim's families.

 

This is the worst elementary school massacres in U.S. History. It completely disgusts me.

I am not an Obama fan at all but even he made me tear up while he teared up at his press conference.

My 12 year old just came into the room crying over the deaths of the 20 children.

I gave her a huge hug and told her that I loved her. She made me cry again.

 

This world is getting worse and it will keep getting worse. "It is what it is whatever?"

 

There is no God that's for sure.

 

Through all the madness humans should still have the right to bare arms.

 

47% of Americans own a gun.

 

Right before Christmas really?

 

The insane are taking over the planet.

 

Love your children and hold them tight.

If you are too young and don't have children then hug your parents and tell them how thankful you are that you have them in your life.

[Babycat]

Even though I don't have any children, I couldn't fail to feel pain and sorrow - the loss of those innocent children must be indescribable. I felt President Obama's pain as he described how everyone's heart's had been broken. Not just for the children, but their families, the Principal and the Psychologist. I couldn't believe it when I heard about the age range of these children - 5-10 year olds. To the victims and their families, my thoughts are with them.

 

As for him, the one who did it - I can't even put down what I think of him...

Edited December 15, 2012 by Babycat

[Your_Lion]

Tragic. And we're meant to believe that monsters don't exist

[Sark]

I just hope the familes can get some peace after going through this sickening turn of events.

[CygnusGal]

I am heartbroken. The families, the children, my thoughts and prayers are with all of them. I can not fathom why such an evil act should be perpetrated upon such innocents. Indescribable loss.

[USB Connector]

I have an indescribable pain......as a parent....as a human.

 

Hug your kids.

 

Pray for the victim's families.

 

This is the worst elementary school massacres in U.S. History. It completely disgusts me.

I am not an Obama fan at all but even he made me tear up while he teared up at his press conference.

My 12 year old just came into the room crying over the deaths of the 20 children.

I gave her a huge hug and told her that I loved her. She made me cry again.

 

This world is getting worse and it will keep getting worse. "It is what it is whatever?"

 

There is no God that's for sure.

 

Through all the madness humans should still have the right to bare arms.

 

47% of Americans own a gun.

 

Right before Christmas really?

 

The insane are taking over the planet.

 

Love your children and hold them tight.

If you are too young and don't have children then hug your parents and tell them how thankful you are that you have them in your life.

 

Guns are just the tool in this terrible incident. In China the same thing happened yesterday, except the guy used a KNIFE. I'm horrified that people would do this.

 

You know what makes it worse? The news outlets went in and despite the administrators of the school forbidding it, they interviewed the children during school hours. Those kids can barely comprehend the horror of what they just experienced and grown adults barged in to make them relive those memories that they can barely process just so they can get tears on camera to boost ratings.

 

My heart goes out to everyone affected. I really hope the media stays away from the families so they grieve in their own way.

[Shredder2]

It deeply saddens me to know how much shootings have happened in America this year alone. It scares me everyday to think about if a shooting may ever happen at my own high school, but an elementary school? What if one of those kids were to become the next big thing? Promising careers cut short all because a man wasn't smart enough to talk his problems through instead of just shooting through them.

[Tarkus406]

I have an indescribable pain......as a parent....as a human.

 

Hug your kids.

 

Pray for the victim's families.

 

This is the worst elementary school massacres in U.S. History. It completely disgusts me.

I am not an Obama fan at all but even he made me tear up while he teared up at his press conference.

My 12 year old just came into the room crying over the deaths of the 20 children.

I gave her a huge hug and told her that I loved her. She made me cry again.

 

This world is getting worse and it will keep getting worse. "It is what it is whatever?"

 

There is no God that's for sure.

 

Through all the madness humans should still have the right to bare arms.

 

47% of Americans own a gun.

 

Right before Christmas really?

 

The insane are taking over the planet.

 

Love your children and hold them tight.

If you are too young and don't have children then hug your parents and tell them how thankful you are that you have them in your life.

 

Guns are just the tool in this terrible incident. In China the same thing happened yesterday, except the guy used a KNIFE. I'm horrified that people would do this.

 

You know what makes it worse? The news outlets went in and despite the administrators of the school forbidding it, they interviewed the children during school hours. Those kids can barely comprehend the horror of what they just experienced and grown adults barged in to make them relive those memories that they can barely process just so they can get tears on camera to boost ratings.

 

My heart goes out to everyone affected. I really hope the media stays away from the families so they grieve in their own way.

 

I, too, hope the media will keep their distance from these families. Those vultures need to realize that none of these people give a shit about the news, interviews, or ratings; they just lost family and that's all that's important, and it sickens me to see people badgered with cameras and mics after incidents like this. Especially young children who just experienced the most traumatic event of their lives.

 

It's embarassing as a human being, for another to take the lives of innocent children and adults. How f*cked up does a man have to be to kill his own mother? How sick and twisted does a man have to be to kill children who had their entire lives ahead of them!

I feel terrible for all the families in Fairfield County who lost sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers yesterday.

 

I'm still in shock over this. It feels awfully strange. I know Newtown well. I grew up in the neighboring town of Monroe. I know many people who live in Newtown. I've seen that school and have even been there before. And now to see a familiar place on the national news after a horrific massacre occurs, really hits close to home. It's reminded me that not all terrible things happen in the faraway lands of Colorado. When things happen in a place you've never known, it is still horrible, but the feeling is different. It can happen right in your own back yard. It can happen anywhere, and no one is ever fully prepared for it.

 

I don't want to place any blame on the up-coming end to the Mayan calendar, because I'm sure it had nothing to do with this tragedy. However, I fear things like this might happen more throughout the next week. There are a lot of nutjobs out there. A lot of insane people who really do believe the world will end on Friday, and want to go out with a bang and take as many people with them as they can. I hope my fear is never justified.

 

My heart goes out to all affected by yesterday's horror.

[Chicken hawk]

We will never know the anger this shooter savage felt inside. Was his life that bad to fullfill this tragic event? Talk and listen to your kids. Love them like there is no tomorrow!

God Bless the town of Newtown Conn.

[Fred Star]

How's this for a motive.. Junior (in his own mind) believes that his mother (a teacher at the very school) is so absorbed by her work and her pupils that she is neglecting her home life and therefore depriving him of the love and attention he needs/craves.. so he cures the problem.. at what he think's is the source. Perhaps i've been watching too many films (movies)!

 

 

Whatever the reason.. a terrible thing to happen.

 

This last hour there was a live news broadcast from the scene with the Chief Medical Officer.. who, along with his staff have had a very trying 24 hrs.. and seemed a tad stressed (obviously) but also with some of the shallow questions being asked by the media.

 

R.I.P.

[Tony R]

Don't talk about gun control or you will be banned.

[RushRevisited]

Don't talk about gun control or you will be banned.

 

No, but you'll just get a 2 week suspension from the politics area if you tell someone to f**k off ;) Those are the rules agreed to upon entry...

 

Tony, I really suggest you leave politics in the politics area and take some time to cool off. You're a good guy inside, you are just mad right now and I don't want to see you end up breaking TRF rules about bringing the politics out here into the general areas. I'd hate to see you go from the entire board for something that isn't worth it and you're better than that.

[USB Connector]

I found this post on Reddit by one of the grieving families. I think it deserves to be read:

 

I was raised in newtown from aged 8 until my graduation from N.H.S. I walked the hallways of Sandy Hook Elementary school and have nothing but positive memories of the place. I remember Mrs. Chard in the library, always smiling and never having a bad thing to say about us. I remember when, in 4th grade, the teachers decided to let us have a bit of fun during lunch and they brought in a karaoke machine for anyone to use. I remember seeing the same sign you've seen on tv every morning before I entered a school full of love, happiness and innocence. Like you, I always considered my hometown a bit special, a bit above the violence and carelessness of the world; a safe haven for my development into the young man I am today.

 

I was torn apart, as was the rest of the world, when I awoke Friday morning to the news. My best friends mother was freaking out, I knew I had to be with them, and I stayed with them all day.Bit by bit our neighbors and friends chimed in, letting us know their children were safe. Some stayed quiet, and we knew why.

 

We all gathered, at Saint Rose to mourn the death of children so young, and the teachers who saved them. If you can imagine what it's like mourning the death of the little neighbor you used to babysit, or the kids you watched hop up on the bus every morning, you can understand that it's a solitary moment. As a community we gathered, forgoing the feuds (and trust me, we're human, we aren't perfect to one another at all times in this town, just like in yours) all the bitterness and anger, and we came together in love.

 

You can comprehend my anger at hearing cameras go off as I watched my best friends father break down. You can relate you wanting some alone time to be able to talk about how to get over this as a community without the intrusion of public opinion, reporters, and all the like. To the reporters hoping to get a Pulitzer prize for their efforts yesterday I ask: Is your soul worth it?

 

Are you happy, 24 hours news media? You've got what you wanted, right? You've got something to talk about for days, and every December 14th you can remind us of a day that will haunt Newtown until the earth shatters into the emptiness of space (although for us that happened yesterday). Now you can have 25 pieces of fodder to discuss mental illness, gun control, safety regulations, and what ever else you need. You have a list of 20 children and 5 heroes and you can call up every one of their names, hardcore atheists and Christians, when trying to convert people. Wonderful!

 

Come on, let's keep talking about Adam, a kid who I went to school with. Let's give more psychopaths a folk hero to rally to when this happens again in another state. Good job media, people who can't shut down their opinions for 5 f***ing seconds, and camera man looking for prizes. Don't patronize us, you don't care about the deaths, you just want ratings. And everyone will keep watching. As if you deserve to toss out your opinions.

 

I'm glad we can become another Columbine, (to you residents there, I never understood until now, and we are in a morbid club, inexplicably intertwined by violence) another cold useless fact. You can do all of this and be happy, because you wanted it.

 

For the record, no one in Newtown was talking about gun control laws, mental health issues, or anything. We were just holding each other, trying to make sense of the senseless. We are ok with you grieving with us, but put down the camera and help us try to piece back together our lives. We need that more than media coverage of this sad day in our history.

 

I'm putting this is /r politics because I have no idea where to put it. You can repost it I don't know where it goes and it doesn't matter. Thanks for reading.

 

Before anyone begins to question my Newtown-ness:

http://i.imgur.com/dI1xB.jpg

 

Other people have made comments in the thread claiming to be Newtownians but no proof was supplied. Here's the link if you want to read more.

 

EDIT: The font came out super small for some odd reason.

Edited December 16, 2012 by USB Connector