School Shooting Newtown CT
 

I have been watching, crying, shaking my head at this unbelievable story. Different reports out on how many are dead, but CBS reports 27 dead, 14 of them children. One gunman killed, there may be another.

Please, if you pray, please ask for comfort and peace for these families.

Absolutely horrible....there are no words to express the sadness.....

Bg

Just awful...I really can't believe it all!

Seriously. I'm numb to this. And that's the worst part - that it's become so frequent that it's "another one". It's not that I don't feel sympathy - I have two kids that are at their elementary school right now. It's just that this world has gotten.so disgusting that there's no shock in these events any more.

People suck.

Words really do fail me.

Eff everything about this. I just don't understand.

Sigh, now saying 26 or 27 dead/18 are kids. K-4th grade. So many people at my husband's work are affected that they are sending everyone home.

You always feel bad hearing these stories, but I guess when it happens in your own back yard, tragedy feels so much more real. Still waiting to hear if children of friends are safe - some are unaccounted for...

There just comes a point where there are no other words but "why?" and "again?"

Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved.

^Agreed.

And as a proactive parent, this is something my first grader and I will discuss when she gets home from school today.

Prayers to the families, children, friends, and first responders. I can't imagine actually being on the scene for that. There was a shooting near Portland Tuesday and this is on the heels of it. Sandy Hook is so much worse, but so many of us were already on edge.

^ How do you broach that topic? It is hard enough to understand as an adult, let alone a child. It has to be talked about, but I wish it didn't have to be.

We're a very practical household. We don't censor much. My husband is a firefighter, so my kids always have questions for him about things they see or hear about. He's seen horrible things but is ok with trying to explain it to our 7 year old who always has to have the answer to everything. We just try to explain it in a way they can understand. And we're ok with saying "I don't know." when it comes to some things. We talk about the dangers of fire in our home, and what to do in case our house is ever on fire. So I'll take the same approach. Sucks that we won't see my husband until Sunday. We might go to the fire station for dinner tomorrow now.

This is two in one week. There was another at Macy's a couple of days ago, too. Honestly, I'm not surprised. Like I said in another thread, and I'll say it again. We can't even enjoy a movie without being afraid that some dick is going to start popping off rounds. Something has got to be done.

Just found out one of my best friends' mother works for their BOE and he hasn't been able to reach her. It's highly unlikely that she was at the school, but I still feel terrible for him. It's also his hometown.

What is wrong with people? Seriously, the shooter was in his early 20s? Was his life really so terrible that he had to go kill a bunch of kids that were still so innocent and devestate the lives of so many?
Ugh. My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone effected.

Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected. How terrible for the families, especially during the holiday season..

The gunman, who was believed to be in his 20s, walked into a classroom where his mother was a teacher.
NYTimes

That isn't his twitter account, just some with the same name.

My heart breaks for these families. Trying very hard to stay in my seat and not to rush home to my child. She will get an extra hard hug and an extra top of the head kiss tonight.

Surely no one in his right mind could do this.

Isn't that the truth. My wife and I were saying we just can't imagine the feeling of dropping our kids off at school and them not coming home because of something like this.

I wish they would quit interviewing these children. They are traumatized and don't need to be discussing the situation with reporters.

On that topic, a question comes to mind.

I've got news streaming in the background and I've heard some interviews of parents. The interviewers always ask how their child is holding up and they've all said, "oh they're doing really well, so brave, etc. etc."

I know nothing about child psychology/early childhood development but at that age are kids really processing this kind of information that quickly? I worry that there has been damage done that will not surface immediately.

That is not to criticize the parents at all--they themselves are trying to process. But I'm just wondering if it will take some time to have an effect on these kids?

I think it actually goes the other way...often children are a LOT more resilient than we give them credit for.

Newtown is not that far away from me. It's a sleepy little town - certainly not the kind of place where you'd see your kids off on the school bus, or see your spouse off to work as a teacher or administrator, and wonder if they're going to come home at the end of the day. People move to places like Newtown to get AWAY from random senseless acts of violence like this ... this serves as proof that it can happen anywhere.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.

And may the shooter spend eternity in a special level of Hell.

You described Newtown perfectly. I get down to that end of the state quite a bit for court (Danbury), and other matters. Quiet area, nice people, a really tightly-knit community.

It's just such an awful, tragic story. There really are no words to describe something like this. My thoughts are with my friends and colleagues in the area, and everyone who has been affected by this event.

Some are probably in shock right now. Some will have PTSD issues later. Some will be a mess right now. Just as with adults, everybody reacts differently. I'm quite certain that counselors and special assistance will be available for these children for a long time. Even though they were all in that building together, they all had different experiences, saw and heard different things, etc.

Ditto with their parents and the teachers.

When Columbine happened, I kept my own kids away from TV news for quite a while. They were very young and I didn't want them to be afraid of school. They learned of it as they grew older, when they were better able to discuss it. Ditto with 9/11. We had some conversations about it, but I shielded them from the extensive TV coverage that would be really upsetting to see.

These kinds of tragedies are so senseless.

Please keep my friend who suffered two gunshot wounds (she is a teach at SH) in your prayers. She is in surgery and that's all the information I can get at the moment.

Thoughts and prayers
 

My thoughts and prayers are with you, your friend and her family, and all those affected by this horrible tragedy.

Prayers.

My prayers have been going up all day for everyone affected. Special ones for your friend now, and for you and her other loved ones. <3

I wish there were a way to physically send love to everyone. My heart is just breaking.

True - children can sense when something is wrong. They may not know the nuances but they get it. But please, PLEASE let these children and teachers receive the counseling they need to process this.

OAN... I really dislike the coverage about the shooter. I won't go into details but... it really rubs me the wrong way.

This really hits close to home, both as an educator and as a former resident of Fairfield county.The principal who was killed, Dawn Hochsprung,was also my little's assistant principal in high school. It's horrifying what people can be capable of...

It really, really breaks my heart to think of how these parents have probably bought presents, etc and now their children won't be coming home for the holidays.

Sad that I work with a girl named Sandy Hooks. I googled the name and found others. Feel bad for them!

At least there isn't too many people with the name of "Columbine" and "9/11".

Why would do non-military people. need a high powered weapon that soldiers in Afghanistan use? Is Bambi really that threatening?

I am not asking about the "right"; I want to know the justification.

In this particular case, the majority of the killings were by a couple of handguns, not high powered rifles. It's a fundamental question of freedom here. Should there perhaps be some burden on gun owners to prove they are safe rather than a presumption that they are? Sure.

Should all guns be registered to their owners and owners be strictly liable for the damage their guns do? That'd be something to consider.

You can't take guns away from ordinary law abiding citizens though. Those of you on the East or West coast might not really understand what things are like in 'flyover country,' but out here many of us are basically responsible for our own security. If we call 911, a sheriff might be a couple of hours away or otherwise occupied. Having one of those high powered rifles could mean life or death.

And in more urban areas? Is contacting law enforcement going to do me any good when someone has kicked in my back door and is invading my home?

Short answer, no discussion from me.

It's not a question of "need". It's a creator-given right, to own a hunting rifle.

Seriously?

Wow. Couldn't agree less.