A heavily armed young gunman slaughtered 20 small childrenand six adults at a school in an idyllic Connecticut town on Friday, December14, in one of the worst mass shootings in US history.
Connecticut State Police spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vancesaid 18 children were shot dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School and thattwo more died of their wounds in hospital. Six adults at the school werekilled, among them the school principal.
The dead killer was Adam Lanza, 20. Police have indicatedthat his mother was Lanza’s first victim. After shooting her in the face in herown house, with her own gun, he then seems to have driven to the school andmethodically spread mayhem, before taking his own life.
The question why remained unanswered. Cruelly, it seems thathis murderous plan was enabled inadvertently by his own mother Nancy. Thepowerful Sig Sauer and Glock handguns he used -- types commonly issued to lawenforcement officers -- as well as a military-grade rifle, were registered toher.
President Barack Obama, wiping away tears and struggling tomaintain his composure, said he was aghast over the tragedy. There were almost nonon-fatal injuries, indicating that once targeted, there was rarely any chanceof escape, and that the gunman was unusually accurate or methodical in his fire. Just one person suffered an injury and survived.
