On Friday, December 14, 2012, 26 people, 20 of them children, were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. All the children were of the ages six and seven, in first grade and kindergarten, and the oldest adult was Anne Marie Murphy, 52, who reportedly died with one of her students, Dylan Hockley, in her arms.

The gunman, Adam Lanza, fired at Sandy Hook Friday morning after shooting and killing his mom earlier. Lanza shot through the glass windows of the doors in the entrance of the school and began shooting at 9:30 am.

At 9:40 am, police got notified that a shooter was in the building at the main office. The school’s principal, Dawn Hochsburg, and school psychologist, Mary Scherlach, were the first to be shot after hearing the glass shatter and the sounds of gunfire. They confronted him and were shot.

He then entered a substitute teacher’s classroom, Lauren Rousseau, and shot 14 children.

Victoria Soto’s classroom was next. She hid her kids in cabinets and told Lanza they were in gym class at the auditorium. She was shot too along with six other kids, while they tried to escape.
Police began to enter at 10:23 am, where the evacuations were underway and began to surround Lanza, where he then shot himself in the head.
According to nydailynews.com, “One witness said Friday’s masked killer, clad in black camouflage, might have fired up to 100 shots in just two minutes as terrified kids cowered in classrooms and closets.”
The surviving kids at Sandy Hook Elementary School were rushed to the nearby firehouse down the road; authorities realized an entire class of kids was missing.
Teachers exited the building shaking and tears in their eyes because of the traumatizing events they witnessed.
President Obama made a brief speech on the subject and ordered that the White House flag would be flown at half-staff.
“As a country, we have been through this too many times,” says the President.
The 20 innocent children include: Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josepgine Gay, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, Anna Marquez-Greene, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozer, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt.
Jack Pinto, 6, was a fan of New York Giant’s wide receiver Victor Cruz, who paid tribute to his fan by writing “Jack Pinto, my hero,” “R.I.P Jack,” and “This one is 4 U” on his shoes during his Sunday night game.
The tragedy at Sandy Hook has brought attention to parents across the nation; it brings up the question up whether their children are truly safe at school.
Arrowhead High School, in Hartland, Wisconsin, has one security guard for both North and South campuses. So are parents safe sending their children to school after what happened on December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut? The answer: we don’t know. Sadly, we don’t know the harsh measures people would go to in order to harm others. And because of this, it would make sense for schools to start re-evaluating their school security measures.
On Thursday, January 3, students at Sandy Hook Elementary School headed back to school. Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said teachers tried to make it as normal a school day as possible.
A neighboring school welcomed students (Chalk Hill in Monroe) while a team of workers prepared the former middle school with new paint and furniture. The backpacks and other belongings of the students were brought over to make the children feel at home.
The new school has increased security, with a new system that includes locks and cameras.
"I think right now it has to be the safest school in America," Monroe Police Lt. Keith White said.