HOLIDAY JOY COMES TO AN END IN NEWTOWN, CONN.
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanThe holidays should be a time of joy and good wishes but instead it has been a time filled with horror and tragedy. First we were in shock at the shooting that took place in a busy Portland, Oregon mall at the height of the shopping season as onlookers feared for their lives, but unfortunately, two innocent individuals were fatally shot.
Yesterday, December 14, 2012, was a tragic day not just for the residents of Newtown, Connecticut, but for the entire nation. I am not a parent myself but I can only imagine the painful grief that the parents of 20 innocent children must have felt on learning about a deeply troubled individual who made his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and carried out an abominable rampage ultimately killing them. In addition, six adults also lost their lives before the gunman took his own life. Prior to arriving at the school, the shooter killed his mother in their home with a bullet to the face, such a heartless act of hatred.
Details about the victims are still unfolding every hour as the autopsies are completed, but friends and family members can be proud that teacher Vicki Soto, school psychologist Mary Sherlach and school principal Dawn Hochsprung all died doing what they loved most including trying to protect the children that were a huge part of their lives.
This is a town that still holds on tight to traditional family values and hate is most likely not even a part of their vocabulary. Seeing photos, it is almost like a town out of a Hallmark movie. In fact, only one reported homicide has taken place in the past ten years in this upscale community surrounded on all sides by woods and filled with expansive homes.
This close-knit town can at least find solace in grieving as a group, in praying and taking refuge for the time being in a safe haven of the church. There are very few words that can even begin to express the heartfelt emotions that stir within all of us.
The investigation promises to be a “long, painstaking process” with clues still unraveling and the motive being a mystery. FBI investigators have joined local and state police to get to the bottom of the situation as quickly as possible.
The shooter’s name has been flashed across the media today, 20-year-old Adam Lanza. Although his brother and father do not live with him, they have been taken in for questioning although they are not suspects. Adam was raised in a normal middle-class home and was known to be quiet and reserved although some are reporting that he was autistic. It is unfathomable that nobody close to him could have seen this coming and perhaps have prevented the chaos and horrific violence that took place.
This is the second deadliest shooting in history that took place at a school. First is the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16, 2007. Killing 32 people and wounding 17, this tops the history books. Of course, ranking just below yesterday’s shooting, is the Columbine Massacre that took place in April of 1999. Twelve students lost their lives as well as one teacher being killed and 21 people injured. Seeing the situation unfold yesterday on the television brought back bad memories for some that lived through Columbine.
As 911 calls have been released of this deadly elementary school shooting, the nation is shocked and appalled and each of us is mourning in our own individual manner. Seeing small children with looks of fear and sadness chill our very souls and bring tears to our eyes and sadness to our hearts. Hiding out in tiny closets, under desks and in bathrooms must have been confusing, utterly terrifying and frightening for these kids, a nightmare that many will relive in their minds for years to come. Once the shooting was determined to have come to an end, parents rushed to the school to hold their children tight and hug them with a strength that signified safety and love.
So what is the answer? How do we begin to stop this violence? President Obama, himself a parent, wiped a tear from his eye and fought back emotion in his statement to the nation after the event was over. Here is his weekly address on the tragedy from this morning:
“On Friday, we learned that more than two dozen people were killed when a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them. And every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt.
Among the fallen were also teachers – men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams.
So our hearts are broken today. We grieve for the families of those we lost. And we keep in our prayers the parents of those who survived. Because as blessed as they are to have their children home, they know that their child’s innocence has been torn away far too early.
As a nation, we have endured far too many of these tragedies in the last few years. An elementary school in Newtown. A shopping mall in Oregon. A house of worship in Wisconsin. A movie theater in Colorado. Countless street corners in places like Chicago and Philadelphia.
Any of these neighborhoods could be our own. So we have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this. Regardless of the politics.
This weekend, Michelle and I are doing what I know every parent is doing – holding our children as close as we can and reminding them how much we love them.
There are families in Connecticut who can’t do that today. And they need all of us now. Because while nothing can take the place of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need – to remind them that we are there for them; that we are praying for them; and that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their own memories, but also in their community, and their country.
Thank you.”
The White House stated that the President supports reinstatement of a federal ban on assault weapons. It has been his commitment since 2008 and although he has not pressed the agenda, tragedy sometimes is said to bring about positive change. It is terrifying to know that this 20-year-old, barely an adult, had possessed 3 deadly weapons that day and had perhaps even more.
You cannot help but wonder how extremely difficult it is going to be for these youngsters, hearts filled with Santa and sugar plums just a few days ago, to enter their school once again and try to make sense of the sad situation all the while missing their friends and fellow students and teachers.
Our thoughts, sympathy and love go out to each and every one of them as well as all of the parents and teachers. May we never have to witness something this horrific ever again.
PHOTO CREDITS: AP, Getty Images and Google Images
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