Thirty-one hours after their lives were ended when a 20-year-old man forced his way into their school and opened fire on some of the youngest pupils and their teachers, the names of those who died in the Connecticut school rampage were released on Saturday.
The nature of the tragedy is told perhaps most poignantly not through the list of 26 names of the victims published by police, but through their dates of birth. Sixteen of them were born in 2006 – they were six years old; four more were seven. The list of the dead also revealed the names of all the six adults who were killed.
Now that the names have been made public, the first glimpse can be gained of the agony of families whose lives were overturned when Adam Lanza, for reasons that are yet to be disclosed, set out for Sandy Hook elementary school after killing his mother on Friday morning.
The names of the dead were released after the Connecticut chief medical examiner, Dr Wayne Carver, and his team had identified all 26 bodies in the school. Carver said he had shown pictures of the children's faces to the parents to avoid having to bring families into direct contact with the bodies of their children.
Carver said he had seen a "devastating set of injuries. I believe everybody was hit more than once." Of the seven victims he examined personally, each had three to 11 gunshot wounds and two had been shot at close range.
He also indicated that early examinations suggested that all of the shootings had been carried out with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle, one of three weapons recovered close to the gunman who killed himself. Should the exclusive use of the Bushmaster be confirmed by investigation, it could prove significant in any ensuing debate over tightening up gun laws in the wake of the catastrophe.
President Obama said on Saturday that he wants to see "meaningful action" to prevent further such tragedies, and one option already being debated widely is to bring back the federal ban on semi-automatic assault rifles that was introduced by Bill Clinton but allowed to lapse in 2004 by George Bush. The Bushmaster would fall under that category, whereas the other two weapons in Lanza's possession, Glock and Sig Sauer handguns, would not.
While the list of the victims has now been released, police say that a positive identification of the shooter has still not been completed. There are also two adults who were injured in the rampage but are expected to make full recoveries, a police source said.
A stream of visibly distressed families have been calling to pay their respects for the dead at the voluntary fire station located just next to Sandy Hook elementary school. A makeshift memorial comprising balloons, a wreath, bunches of flowers and a large heart made from 20 teddy bears, one for every child victim, grew steadily through the day.
A line of 26 Christmas trees for the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre were put up today in a poignant reminder of those who will miss this holiday season.
The trees were donated by an anonymous benefactor from North Carolina who was moved by an advert for a Christmas tree sale at the Sandy Hook volunteer fire department he saw watching the harrowing coverage of the shooting.
Decorated by women and children helping out at the fire station, the five-foot trees were lined up leading towards the tragic school.
The list of names can be found at: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/list-conn-school-shooting-victims-names-released-article-1.1221098
Sunday 16 December 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/15/newtown-shooting-victims-names-released
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