2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a tragic mass shooting that took place on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, USA. It was one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

Adam Lanza took the lives of 20 children ages 6-7 and 6 school staff members. 2 people also suffered non-life-threatening injuries. On the morning of Dec. 14th, Adam killed his mother and then drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza, armed with a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle (AR-15 type), Glock 20SF handgun, and SIG Sauer P226 handgun, forcibly entered the school by shooting through a glass window next to the front entrance.

The first victims were principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, who rushed to confront Lanza and were immediately shot and killed. He then moved through two first-grade classrooms, opening fire indiscriminately.

In Classroom 8, Teacher Lauren Rousseau & 14 children were killed.

In Classroom 10, Teacher Victoria Soto tried to shield her students but was killed along with 6 children.

A few children and staff survived by hiding in closets & bathrooms or pretending to be dead.

The first 911 call was made at 9:35 AM.

Law enforcement officers arrived within minutes, but the shooting was over in less than 5 minutes. As police closed in, Lanza shot himself in the head in one of the classrooms.

A Bushmaster XM15-E2S (AR-15 type rifle) was used in the attack. A Glock 20SF 10mm handgun was found near his body. A SIG Sauer P226 9mm handgun was found at the scene and an Izhmash Saiga-12 shotgun was left in his car. All of the weapons were legally purchased by his mother, Nancy Lanza.

Adam Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (autism spectrum disorder) but no clear link between autism and violence was established.

Reports indicated severe social anxiety and obsessive behaviors.

A 2014 report from the Office of the Child Advocate suggested he had undiagnosed psychiatric disorders and extreme isolation.

No explicit motive was discovered, though he had an obsession with mass shootings.

Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished in 2013.

A new school was built on the same site and reopened in 2016.

Multiple memorials and funds were established to honor the victims.

Dawn Hochsprung (Principal)

Mary Sherlach (School psychologist)

Victoria Soto (Teacher)

Anne Marie Murphy (Teacher’s aide)

Lauren Rousseau (Teacher)

Rachel D’Avino (Behavioral therapist)

Charlotte Bacon, 6

Daniel Barden, 7

Olivia Engel, 6

Josephine Gay, 7

Dylan Hockley, 6

Madeleine Hsu, 6

Catherine Hubbard, 6

Chase Kowalski, 7

Jesse Lewis, 6

Ana Márquez-Greene, 6

James Mattioli, 6

Grace McDonnell, 7

Emilie Parker, 6

Jack Pinto, 6

Noah Pozner, 6

Caroline Previdi, 6

Jessica Rekos, 6

Avielle Richman, 6

Benjamin Wheeler, 6

Allison Wyatt, 6