Bells toll for victims one week after school shooting
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - The chiming of bells reverberated throughout Newtown on Friday, commemorating one week since the crackle of gunfire in a schoolhouse killed 20 children and six adults in a massacre that has shaken the community - and the nation - to its core.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gathered with other officials in rain and wind on the steps of the Edmond Town Hall as the bell rang 26 times in memory of each life lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The gunman also killed his mother before the massacre, and himself afterward.
Officials didn't make any formal remark, and similar commemorations took place throughout the country.
Though the massacre does not rank as the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history - that happened at Virginia Tech - the tender age of the victims and the absence of any apparent motive has struck at Americans' hearts and minds. The gunman used a military-style assault rifle loaded with ammunition intended to inflict maximum damage, officials have said.
The White House said President Barack Obama privately observed the moment of silence.
Just a week after the attack on the first grade students and members of the school's staff, gun control has taken a front burner in Congress, where previous mass shootings produced only minimal legislative reaction. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that the Obama administration would push to tighten gun laws.
The National Rifle Association, at its first public event since the shootings, called Friday for armed police officers to be posted in American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."
Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the nation's largest gun-rights lobby with 4.3 million members, said at the Washington news conference that, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture.
Though security was tight, the briefing was interrupted twice by people holding up signs that blamed the NRA for killing children. The protesters were taken from the room.
Newtown schools superintendent Janet Robinson told The Associated Press on Friday that consolidating the first grade classes at Sandy Hook Elementary School is part of the process of preparing for the students' return Jan. 3 to a refurbished middle school in Monroe. She said most of the classes will remain intact, except the first grade where 20 students were killed. She said one of the three classes has a single remaining student.
Traffic stopped in the streets outside the town hall in Newtown early Friday as bells rang out to honor the dead.
Malloy, taking deep breaths with his hands folded in front of him, was joined by the Newtown superintendent of schools, lawmakers and other officials as bells rang out at the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church.
Firefighters bowed their heads around a memorial filled with teddy bears, other stuffed animals and a New York Giants pillow. Some hugged and onlookers shook their hands afterward.
"When I heard the 26 bells ring it just melted my soul," said Kerrie Glassman, of Sandy Hook, who said she knew seven of the victims. "It's just overwhelming. You just can't believe this happened in our town."
Among those who gathered in Newtown was a group of 13 survivors of the 2005 school shooting on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The group drove nearly 1,500 miles to support and comfort the families and survivors. They brought gifts intended to bring a message of resilience and hope, including a plaque that survivors of the 1999 Columbine shooting gave to them after their experience.
"This is just something we had to do," said Ashley Lejeunesse, 23, who was also in the Red Lake classroom.
The chiming of bells reverberated throughout the nation, and there were observances around the world.
In Washington, religious leaders from a broad range of faiths gathered at Washington National Cathedral to call for their congregations to lobby Congress to enact gun control and mental health reforms to address pervasive gun violence. In a garden beside the National Cathedral, they paused to listen as a funeral bell tolled.
In New York City, bells at the historic Trinity Church near the World Trade Center tolled 28 times. In Massachusetts, bells in churches around the state, including Boston's historic Old North Church, rang in honor of those killed in the attack. A moment of silence was observed throughout Colorado, and bells rang out in Denver, while in Wyoming, St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne and other places of worship rang bells 26 times. In Ohio, places of worship from Cincinnati to Cleveland and beyond tolled their bells 26 times, and schools across the state marked the moment with silence.
In Alabama, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, governors invited citizens to take part in a moment of silence.
In the west African nation of Liberia, 20 children from a school sponsored by the Newtown Rotary Club gathered at the U.S. Embassy to give their condolences. Each child from the Caroline Miller School in Monrovia placed a flower on a poster bearing the name of a victim of the shooting.
When the bells tolled to honor the victims of last week's shooting rampage, they did so 26 times, for each child and staff member killed.
There is rarely a mention by residents of the first person police said Adam Lanza killed that morning: his mother, Nancy, who was shot in the head four times while she lay in bed.
A private funeral was held Thursday in New Hampshire for Nancy Lanza, according to the police chief in Kingston, N.H., where her funeral was held. About 25 family members attended.
The Newtown area weathered more funerals Friday, with five planned.
A standing room-only crowd filled the St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church in Trumbull for the funeral of Mary Sherlach. The school psychologist who rushed toward the gunman during the shooting was remembered as a caring professional, a fan of the Miami Dolphins and a woman who ultimately put the lives of others ahead of her own.
Investigators have said that Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast, visited shooting ranges several times and that her son also visited an area range.
Authorities say Adam Lanza shot his mother at their home and then took her car and some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A Connecticut official said Nancy Lanza was shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.
Adam Lanza was wearing all black, with an olive-drab utility vest, during the school attack. Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the rampage.
Friends and acquaintances have described him as intelligent, but odd and quiet.
Friends said he would stare down at the floor and not speak when she brought him into a local pizzeria. They knew that he'd switched schools more than once and that she'd tried home schooling him. But while she occasionally expressed concern about his future during evenings at the bar, she never complained.
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Melia, John Christoffersen, Eileen Connelly, Susan Haigh and David Klepper in Newtown.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gathered with other officials in rain and wind on the steps of the Edmond Town Hall as the bell rang 26 times in memory of each life lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The gunman also killed his mother before the massacre, and himself afterward.
Officials didn't make any formal remark, and similar commemorations took place throughout the country.
Though the massacre does not rank as the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history - that happened at Virginia Tech - the tender age of the victims and the absence of any apparent motive has struck at Americans' hearts and minds. The gunman used a military-style assault rifle loaded with ammunition intended to inflict maximum damage, officials have said.
The White House said President Barack Obama privately observed the moment of silence.
Just a week after the attack on the first grade students and members of the school's staff, gun control has taken a front burner in Congress, where previous mass shootings produced only minimal legislative reaction. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that the Obama administration would push to tighten gun laws.
The National Rifle Association, at its first public event since the shootings, called Friday for armed police officers to be posted in American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."
Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the nation's largest gun-rights lobby with 4.3 million members, said at the Washington news conference that, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture.
Though security was tight, the briefing was interrupted twice by people holding up signs that blamed the NRA for killing children. The protesters were taken from the room.
Newtown schools superintendent Janet Robinson told The Associated Press on Friday that consolidating the first grade classes at Sandy Hook Elementary School is part of the process of preparing for the students' return Jan. 3 to a refurbished middle school in Monroe. She said most of the classes will remain intact, except the first grade where 20 students were killed. She said one of the three classes has a single remaining student.
Traffic stopped in the streets outside the town hall in Newtown early Friday as bells rang out to honor the dead.
Malloy, taking deep breaths with his hands folded in front of him, was joined by the Newtown superintendent of schools, lawmakers and other officials as bells rang out at the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church.
Firefighters bowed their heads around a memorial filled with teddy bears, other stuffed animals and a New York Giants pillow. Some hugged and onlookers shook their hands afterward.
"When I heard the 26 bells ring it just melted my soul," said Kerrie Glassman, of Sandy Hook, who said she knew seven of the victims. "It's just overwhelming. You just can't believe this happened in our town."
Among those who gathered in Newtown was a group of 13 survivors of the 2005 school shooting on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The group drove nearly 1,500 miles to support and comfort the families and survivors. They brought gifts intended to bring a message of resilience and hope, including a plaque that survivors of the 1999 Columbine shooting gave to them after their experience.
"This is just something we had to do," said Ashley Lejeunesse, 23, who was also in the Red Lake classroom.
The chiming of bells reverberated throughout the nation, and there were observances around the world.
In Washington, religious leaders from a broad range of faiths gathered at Washington National Cathedral to call for their congregations to lobby Congress to enact gun control and mental health reforms to address pervasive gun violence. In a garden beside the National Cathedral, they paused to listen as a funeral bell tolled.
In New York City, bells at the historic Trinity Church near the World Trade Center tolled 28 times. In Massachusetts, bells in churches around the state, including Boston's historic Old North Church, rang in honor of those killed in the attack. A moment of silence was observed throughout Colorado, and bells rang out in Denver, while in Wyoming, St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne and other places of worship rang bells 26 times. In Ohio, places of worship from Cincinnati to Cleveland and beyond tolled their bells 26 times, and schools across the state marked the moment with silence.
In Alabama, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, governors invited citizens to take part in a moment of silence.
In the west African nation of Liberia, 20 children from a school sponsored by the Newtown Rotary Club gathered at the U.S. Embassy to give their condolences. Each child from the Caroline Miller School in Monrovia placed a flower on a poster bearing the name of a victim of the shooting.
When the bells tolled to honor the victims of last week's shooting rampage, they did so 26 times, for each child and staff member killed.
There is rarely a mention by residents of the first person police said Adam Lanza killed that morning: his mother, Nancy, who was shot in the head four times while she lay in bed.
A private funeral was held Thursday in New Hampshire for Nancy Lanza, according to the police chief in Kingston, N.H., where her funeral was held. About 25 family members attended.
The Newtown area weathered more funerals Friday, with five planned.
A standing room-only crowd filled the St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church in Trumbull for the funeral of Mary Sherlach. The school psychologist who rushed toward the gunman during the shooting was remembered as a caring professional, a fan of the Miami Dolphins and a woman who ultimately put the lives of others ahead of her own.
Investigators have said that Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast, visited shooting ranges several times and that her son also visited an area range.
Authorities say Adam Lanza shot his mother at their home and then took her car and some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A Connecticut official said Nancy Lanza was shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.
Adam Lanza was wearing all black, with an olive-drab utility vest, during the school attack. Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the rampage.
Friends and acquaintances have described him as intelligent, but odd and quiet.
Friends said he would stare down at the floor and not speak when she brought him into a local pizzeria. They knew that he'd switched schools more than once and that she'd tried home schooling him. But while she occasionally expressed concern about his future during evenings at the bar, she never complained.
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Melia, John Christoffersen, Eileen Connelly, Susan Haigh and David Klepper in Newtown.
These events are tragic, too many young children, to include the brave adults who tried to stop this kid while on his rampage, will truely be missed. first WHY are we ranking the shootings, weather the incident was the worst or 2nd worst, even one childs death is bad. Second, Gun control, and the statement of having N.R.A. Presidents head on a platter, (in previous news reports) is Just as irresponsible as the kid who committed this horrid act. When are we going to put the responsibility where it lies, How many stabbing happened in portland just in the last month vs shootings. Time to wake up, go back to basics. Leave our right to bear arms alone and enforce more strict punishments.
Â
I don't have too much sympathy for the mom. The day before the murders, she comes back from time in a SPA??? Give me a break!! You have a son that you have to warn people not to "turn your back on him"??? And you leave him alone with all those guns you claim to have for protection???? Nope...no sympathies here. She was as woman of some wealth and supposedly a professional, and she couldn't get the proper help for this child?? Anyone needs sympathy, it's his brother. No sympathies for her here.
 @fracas 20 years old isn't a child. He killed children. He was nothing like those that he killed.
 @fracas Spoken like someone who has never interacted with in any great depth, let alone RAISED, a special needs child.  Shaming her for taking what was probably a much needed, critical break and clearing her mind and refocusing her priorities just makes you out to be petty, jealous, and small. Remember that everything the media prints is biased to some extent, especially in cases of these events. Nancy Lanza isn't here to defend herself or refute any of the comments, speculations, and opinions her neighbors and friends feel free to offer, and the brother isn't doing much talking. So, everything at this point is hearsay and conjecture, meant to sell the story. God only knows if it is anything resembling truth or not.
@MissLissaJ Oh wahhh....I'm in a professiona where I interact each and every day with the public, and very lucky to have never had a special needs child. My idea of a 'critical break' from her son would have been in leaving him with someone while she did that. You explain the need for her to have those guns, then I'll see your comment as having merit.
 @fracas  @MissLissaJ I didn't for one tiny second say she should have the guns in the house, did I? I said she was taking a much needed break--and at 20, and his non-violent history (up to the point he snapped) she didn't need to leave him with someone else. But the guns? I never for one second said she needed them or said she should have them. However, a SPA day and keeping guns in the house are two entirely different kettles of fish.
It is in extremely poor taste that the mother wasn't included in this tribute. Another sad testament to the need of the general population to have a very visible, public pariah upon which they can affix all the troubles of one particular incident in society; so as to avoid looking too deeply at the actual situation and possibly, ourselves and the values we have come to have in our life. It is so easy to shrug and say "Oh, the shooter was a psycho" and move on our with our day. However, it underscores the often taboo nature and avoidance of actually addressing the growing problem of mental illness in our society--and how the most vulnerable amongst us are falling between cracks, and then resurfacing in the most unexpected ways.  It is also an indicator of the changing nature of society: We socialize on computer monitors and families sit in the same room and text each other rather than talking. When children grow up in the detached online environment and are left to themselves to play violent video games and explore deviant avenues of thought and behavior with no guidance to the contrary, this is what you get--children who have no concept that life is any more tangible than the computer environments grow up in...and probably hoping to be the "heroes" of the game. James Holmes, 24. Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22. Adam Lanza, 20. All children of the age of social media and internet anonymity. Until people are willing to stand up and actually address the issues plaguing society, these incidents are going to become more frequent, whether guns are banned or not.
@MissLissaJ
You do know that posting on forums like this achieves nothing right? If you really want to see change come about this is not the place to post anything...this is just a place where grumpy old people like me hang out because we have nothing better to do.
Â
 @CramRalphden Yes I do know that. But while I advocate for the stuff I post here in real life..maybe, just maybe it will be seen by one person who it influences. Hopefully for better--but god knows. Regardless, I feel better getting to blow off steam and maybe achieve some stimulating intellectual discourse at the same time. :D