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| Newtown shooting: a quiet town hit by an attack of unimaginable brutality | Newtown shooting: a quiet town hit by an attack of unimaginable brutality |
| (7 days later) | |
| At 9.30am on a crisp and sun-filled Friday morning, seven employees of Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, gathered for a weekly meeting. At that minute, the outside doors of the school had been locked, as part of a new security system that had just been introduced to "ensure student safety". | At 9.30am on a crisp and sun-filled Friday morning, seven employees of Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, gathered for a weekly meeting. At that minute, the outside doors of the school had been locked, as part of a new security system that had just been introduced to "ensure student safety". |
| The staff meeting, that included the principal Dawn Hochsprung, her vice-principal and the school psychologist, began. There was plenty to talk about, judging from Hochsprung's Twitter feed. Fourth-graders were in final rehearsals for their winter concert; teachers were introducing a range of education apps for classroom iPads; there were new non-fiction books to be chosen. | The staff meeting, that included the principal Dawn Hochsprung, her vice-principal and the school psychologist, began. There was plenty to talk about, judging from Hochsprung's Twitter feed. Fourth-graders were in final rehearsals for their winter concert; teachers were introducing a range of education apps for classroom iPads; there were new non-fiction books to be chosen. |
| Then five minutes into the discussions a loud "pop, pop, pop" noise was heard in the hallway right outside the meeting room. The two principals immediately stood up and rushed out into the hall to find out what was happening, accompanied by the psychologist. | Then five minutes into the discussions a loud "pop, pop, pop" noise was heard in the hallway right outside the meeting room. The two principals immediately stood up and rushed out into the hall to find out what was happening, accompanied by the psychologist. |
| According to one of the other participants in that meeting, who talked to CNN.com, only the vice-principal came back, bleeding from a gunshot wound in her foot. The principal and psychologist were later seen lying in the bloody hallway. | According to one of the other participants in that meeting, who talked to CNN.com, only the vice-principal came back, bleeding from a gunshot wound in her foot. The principal and psychologist were later seen lying in the bloody hallway. |
| Within seconds, 911 calls flooded into the police dispatchers in Newtown, a serene New England community of about 25,000 located 60 miles north-east of New York City. A masked gunman was inside, the police were told, brandishing a semi-automatic rifle and a pistol targeted at some of the school's 600 four- to 10-year-olds. | Within seconds, 911 calls flooded into the police dispatchers in Newtown, a serene New England community of about 25,000 located 60 miles north-east of New York City. A masked gunman was inside, the police were told, brandishing a semi-automatic rifle and a pistol targeted at some of the school's 600 four- to 10-year-olds. |
| The community instantly went into the kind of emergency response now familiar from similar tragedies that have become etched in America's national memory: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, the list grows. But this kind of thing was never meant to happen here, not in sleepy Newtown. | The community instantly went into the kind of emergency response now familiar from similar tragedies that have become etched in America's national memory: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, the list grows. But this kind of thing was never meant to happen here, not in sleepy Newtown. |
| "We always thought this was the safest place in America," said Stephen Delgiadice, whose eight-year-old daughter was in class when the shooting started but got out unharmed. He raced to the school as soon as he heard the breaking news to find out if his child was safe. He described the moment he was reunited with her. "I saw her, and it was the happiest moment of my life," he said. | "We always thought this was the safest place in America," said Stephen Delgiadice, whose eight-year-old daughter was in class when the shooting started but got out unharmed. He raced to the school as soon as he heard the breaking news to find out if his child was safe. He described the moment he was reunited with her. "I saw her, and it was the happiest moment of my life," he said. |
| Sandy Hook school was put into lockdown, as were all other schools in the region, and Swat teams rushed to the scene. Initial reports suggested two gunmen might have been involved, and armed police were sent to scour through the woods at the back of the school, though the idea of a second gunman faded as the day progressed. | Sandy Hook school was put into lockdown, as were all other schools in the region, and Swat teams rushed to the scene. Initial reports suggested two gunmen might have been involved, and armed police were sent to scour through the woods at the back of the school, though the idea of a second gunman faded as the day progressed. |
| Inside the school, the masked gunman, reportedly wearing a bullet-proof vest and dressed in black, was busily at work. One witness said they heard "at least a hundred rounds" being fired from the weapons he wielded, including Glock and Sig Sauer handguns recovered later at the scene. | Inside the school, the masked gunman, reportedly wearing a bullet-proof vest and dressed in black, was busily at work. One witness said they heard "at least a hundred rounds" being fired from the weapons he wielded, including Glock and Sig Sauer handguns recovered later at the scene. |
| Amid the carnage that was enfolding, there was yelling in the corridors as children ran in all directions. Brenda Lebinski, the mother of an eight-year-old girl at the school, said that when the shooting started her daughter's teacher marshalled all her class into a closet. | Amid the carnage that was enfolding, there was yelling in the corridors as children ran in all directions. Brenda Lebinski, the mother of an eight-year-old girl at the school, said that when the shooting started her daughter's teacher marshalled all her class into a closet. |
| "My daughter's teacher is my hero, she locked all the kids in a closet and that saved their lives," Lebinski told Newtown Patch. | "My daughter's teacher is my hero, she locked all the kids in a closet and that saved their lives," Lebinski told Newtown Patch. |
| A nine-year-old boy told local reporters how he had been in the school gym when the horror began. "We heard lots of bangs, and we thought it was the custodian knocking things down," the boy said. "We heard screaming, then the police came in and said 'Is he here?' | A nine-year-old boy told local reporters how he had been in the school gym when the horror began. "We heard lots of bangs, and we thought it was the custodian knocking things down," the boy said. "We heard screaming, then the police came in and said 'Is he here?' |
| "The teachers yelled at us, 'Get into the closet,' and we sat in there for a little while. Then the police knocked on the door and said, 'We're evacuating, we're evacuating, this way, this way.'" | "The teachers yelled at us, 'Get into the closet,' and we sat in there for a little while. Then the police knocked on the door and said, 'We're evacuating, we're evacuating, this way, this way.'" |
| Another girl, aged eight, hid with her teacher in a bathroom. The teacher tried to comfort the child by telling her the noise was nothing to worry about; that it was just the sound of builders hammering. | Another girl, aged eight, hid with her teacher in a bathroom. The teacher tried to comfort the child by telling her the noise was nothing to worry about; that it was just the sound of builders hammering. |
| Alexis Wasik described the fear that engulfed her in terms that only an eight-year-old could. "It was really frightening. Some people felt they had a stomach ache," she said. | Alexis Wasik described the fear that engulfed her in terms that only an eight-year-old could. "It was really frightening. Some people felt they had a stomach ache," she said. |
| When Swat teams arrived at the school by 9.45am they entered the building and began an "active shooter search", checking every door and every crack of the school in the race against the clock to stop the gunman and contain the body count. | When Swat teams arrived at the school by 9.45am they entered the building and began an "active shooter search", checking every door and every crack of the school in the race against the clock to stop the gunman and contain the body count. |
| Police began ushering pupils out of the school, long lines of children snaking into the daylight, their brightly coloured jeans and T-shirts looking far too cheery for the circumstances. They were taken to the voluntary fire station adjacent to the school, where hundreds of anxious parents began to arrive, having been by alerted by automatic robocall. They filed into the fire house, some to experience the ecstatic relief of reunion, others to have their lives forever shattered in a moment by the worst news a parent can be told. | Police began ushering pupils out of the school, long lines of children snaking into the daylight, their brightly coloured jeans and T-shirts looking far too cheery for the circumstances. They were taken to the voluntary fire station adjacent to the school, where hundreds of anxious parents began to arrive, having been by alerted by automatic robocall. They filed into the fire house, some to experience the ecstatic relief of reunion, others to have their lives forever shattered in a moment by the worst news a parent can be told. |
| Within the hour, it was announced that the gunman was dead, his corpse left inside the school awaiting forensic investigations. The public was no longer in danger, said Lt Paul Vance of the state police. But though the gunman's business was over, the pain and the terror he left behind had only just begun to be felt across America. A dawning awareness rippled out from Sandy Hook elementary that a catastrophe of unimaginable brutality and on an historic scale had taken place there. | Within the hour, it was announced that the gunman was dead, his corpse left inside the school awaiting forensic investigations. The public was no longer in danger, said Lt Paul Vance of the state police. But though the gunman's business was over, the pain and the terror he left behind had only just begun to be felt across America. A dawning awareness rippled out from Sandy Hook elementary that a catastrophe of unimaginable brutality and on an historic scale had taken place there. |
| At first it was thought just the gunman had died, then details emerged that there had been injuries, then reports of a couple of adults had died, then the first heartrending mention of children who had perished, then the chilling citing of statistics that in turn rose in spluttering bursts to a numbing 27 dead including 20 children. | At first it was thought just the gunman had died, then details emerged that there had been injuries, then reports of a couple of adults had died, then the first heartrending mention of children who had perished, then the chilling citing of statistics that in turn rose in spluttering bursts to a numbing 27 dead including 20 children. |
| As the world's media began to congregate in this previously news-less town, reporters could see parents running down the lane that leads away from the school, clutching their children in their arms. One mother screamed out as she ran the words everyone was thinking: "Why? Why? Why?" | As the world's media began to congregate in this previously news-less town, reporters could see parents running down the lane that leads away from the school, clutching their children in their arms. One mother screamed out as she ran the words everyone was thinking: "Why? Why? Why?" |
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