December 14th In History: Adam Lanza Shoots Sandy Hook Elementary School Students

The location of the Sandy Hook SD shooting (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - On December 14, 2012, there was a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School (SD) in Newtown, Connecticut, United States (US). The tragedy killed 20 1st graders and six school employees. Before the attack, the perpetrator killed his own mother. After the attack, he pointed a gun at himself.

The Sandy Hook shooting at the time was the second-deadliest mass shooting in the US. Previously there was a shooting in 2007 at Virginia Tech, in which a gunman killed 32 students and a teacher before finally killing himself.

Citing History, Monday, December 14, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot through a glass window next to Sandy Hook's locked front entrance to gain access to the school. Hearing that voice, the principal and the school psychologist went to check.

However, when they were about to check, they were shot and killed by Lanza. At that time he was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, two semi-automatic pistols, and several rounds of ammunition. Lanza also shot and injured two other Sandy Hook staff.

He then entered two classrooms for first graders. Lanza then shot dead two teachers and 15 students in one room, as well as two teachers and five students in another room.

Motive?

The children whom Lanza killed, 12 girls and 8 boys, aged 6 and 7 years. A total of 12 first grade students from two classrooms survived.

When Lanza heard the police approaching him, he killed himself in the classroom at around 9.40am. Police soon learned that that morning, prior to arriving at Sandy Hook, Lanza had shot and killed her 52-year-old mother at their home.

Investigators say that Lanza, who attended Sandy Hook school as a child, acted alone in planning and executing the attack. But they couldn't find a motive for his actions or find why he targeted Sandy Hook.

Adam Lanza on ABC News coverage (YouTube / @ ABC News)

In November 2013, Connecticut State attorneys released a report that noted Lanza had significant mental health problems. This condition affects their ability to live a normal life and interact with other people.

But the mental health professionals who had examined Lanza saw nothing to describe her future behavior. After the Sandy Hook shooting, US President Barack Obama called for new weapons safety measures.

Weapon problem

However, his main legislative objective, an expanded background check for arms buyers, was blocked by the US Senate. Armaments are a weakness for the Obama administration, at least that is what he admitted in a BBC interview in 2015.

"You mention the gun issue, that's an area where if you ask me, where I feel most frustrated and most deterred is the fact that the US is the only developed country on earth, where we don't have enough common sense, law. - gun safety legislation. Even in the face of repeated mass killings, "Obama said.

Obama attended a prayer procession with the Sandy Hook tragedy (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

"If you look at the number of Americans who have been killed since 9/11 by terrorism, the number is less than 100. If you look at the number killed by gun violence, it is in the tens of thousands. For us not to be able to solve that problem has become a sad thing. But that's not something I want to stop in the remaining 18 months (of administration). "

Newtown, which has about 27,000 residents and is located about 45 miles southwest of Connecticut's capital, Hartford, has finally decided to tear down Sandy Hook Elementary School. The school was demolished in the fall of 2013 and a new school was built in the same area.

Sandy Hook tragedy memorial site (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Today is exactly eight years after the Sandy Hook events. Newtown Governor Ned Lamont ordered everyone to raise flags at half-mast in memory of the Sandy Hook tragedy. Half-mast flags fly from sunrise to sunset.

"The memories of twenty young children and six educators whose lives were tragically taken away on that terrible morning eight years ago will forever remain in our hearts," Lamont said in a statement.

"We can continue to honor them by carrying out acts of kindness, love and humanity that brighten the lives of others and bring comfort to our community."