Global InformationSandy Hook Elementary School shooting information
| Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting | |
|---|---|
 Police at the scene of the shooting | |
 Location of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut | |
| Location | Sandy Hook Elementary School, Sandy Hook, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Date | December 14, 2012 c. 9:35 – c. 9:40 a.m.[1][2][3] EST (UTC−05:00) |
| Target | Students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School |
Attack type | Mass shooting, murder–suicide, pedicide, matricide, spree shooting, school shooting, mass murder |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 28 (27 at the school, including the perpetrator; and the perpetrator's mother at home)[5][6] |
| Injured | 2[7] |
| Perpetrator | Adam Lanza[8][9] |
| Motive | Unknown[10][11] |
| Litigation | Wrongful death lawsuit against Remington Arms settled for $73 million[12] |
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and the other six were adult staff members. Earlier that day, before driving to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the school, Lanza killed himself, shooting himself in the head.
The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in Connecticut history and the deadliest at an elementary school in U.S. history. The shooting prompted renewed debate about gun control in the United States, including proposals to make the background-check system universal, and for new federal and state gun legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain types of semi-automatic firearms and magazines which can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.
A November 2013 report issued by the Connecticut State Attorney's office concluded that Lanza acted alone and planned his actions, but provided no indication why he did so, or why he targeted the school. A report issued by the Office of the Child Advocate in November 2014 said that Lanza had Asperger's syndrome and, as a teenager, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but concluded that they had "neither caused nor led to his murderous acts". The report went on to say, "his severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems [...] combined with an atypical preoccupation with violence [...] (and) access to deadly weapons [...] proved a recipe for mass murder."[13]
- ^ Scinto, Rich (December 15, 2012). "Sandy Hook Elementary: Newtown, Connecticut shooting timeline". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ^ Connor, Tracy (December 19, 2012). "'Call for everything': Police scanner recording reveals early moments of Newtown tragedy". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Access to weapons made tragedy possible". Connecticut Post. March 28, 2013. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ "Conn. school shooter had 4 weapons". CBS News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ^ Barron, James (December 15, 2012). "Children Were All Shot Multiple Times With a Semiautomatic, Officials Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ^ "20 children among dead at school shooting in Connecticut". CBC News. December 14, 2012. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ "Police: Second person injured in Connecticut school shooting survived". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ^ Llanos, Miguel (December 14, 2012). "Authorities ID gunman who killed 27 in elementary school massacre". NBC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ Jennings, Natalie (December 14, 2012). "Mark Kelly: Action on guns 'can no longer wait'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ^ Winter, Tom; Riordan Seville, Lisa (November 25, 2013). "Newtown report: Shooter Adam Lanza had no clear motive, was obsessed with Columbine". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ Richinick, Michele (November 25, 2013). "'No conclusive motive' in Newtown shootings, report says". MSNBC. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ Fernando, Christine (February 15, 2022). "Sandy Hook families agree to $73 million settlement with gunmaker Remington". USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ Report of the Office of the Child Advocate, p.9, section 36