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An American Affidavit

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Chapter 16 Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline by James F Tracy, Ph. D. from Nobody Died at Sandy Hook

 
APPENDIX C 



Sandy Hook School 
Massacre Timeline 

by James F Tracy, Ph. D. 



The following 
timeline of the 
December 14, 2012 
mass killing of 
20 children and 8 
adults in Newtown 
Connecticut attempts 
to demonstrate 
how the event was 
presented to the 
public by corporate 
news media. 

The chronological assemblage of coverage is not comprehensive of all 
reports published on the incident but rather seeks to verify how the storyline 
was to a substantial degree constructed by federal and state law enforcement 
authorities and major media around the theory that 20-year-old Adam Lanza 
was the sole agent in the massacre. 

This scenario became an established reality through the news media’s 
pronounced repetition of the lone gunman narrative and meme. This 
proposed scenario significantly obscured the fact that police encountered and 
apprehended two additional shooting suspects on the school’s grounds within 
minutes of the crime. These suspects remain unaccounted for by authorities 
but the roles they may have played arguably correlate with the shifting 
information presented by authorities and major news media on injuries and 
weapons vis-a-vis the mass carnage meted out in the school. 




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James F. Tracy 



While the certain detainment of additional suspects was pointed to by 
alternative news media, including Natural News, Infowars, Veterans Today 
and Global Research in the days following the tragedy, the untenable lone 
gunman narrative has become firmly established in the public psyche via an 
overwhelming chorus of corporate media reports and interpretations. 

Note: Times of occurrences referenced are Eastern Standard Time and 
in some instances signify time of publication rather than the specific incident 
cited. Time of publication does not always correlate with exact time of 
incident, “n.t.” denotes “no time” of publication referenced. 

1955 
May 17 

First Selectman A. Fenn Dickinson ofNewtown, a 42 -year-old Democrat 
serving his third term as Newtown’s foremost public servant, is killed when 
a truck backs over him at a road project in Sandy Flook. Dickinson Drive, 
the road leading to Sandy Flook Elementary, is named after the local leader. 
“Do You RememberT , Newstimes.com, May 22, 2005. 

2006 
June 26 

President George W. Bush signs Executive Order 13407 to establish 
a Public Alert and Warning System for national emergencies potentially 
involving the public at large. “It is the policy of the United States,” the EO’s 
policy summary reads, 

to have an effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive 
system to alert and warn the American people in situations of war, terrorist 
attack, natural disaster, or other hazards to public safety and well-being 
(public alert and warning system), taking appropriate account of the 
functions, capabilities, and needs of the private sector and of all levels of 
government in our Federal system, and to ensure that under all conditions 
the President can communicate with the American people. 

The Department of Homeland Security is designated as the government 
entity for establishment of the integrated mass communication system. 
“Executive Order 13407 (PDF),” Government Printing Office, June 2006. 

December 4 

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, New York State Police (NYSP) 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



Superintendent Wayne E. Bennett, and Connecticut Department of 
Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle release a 207-page 
report chronicling shortcomings in the Connecticut State Police (CSP) internal 
affairs system and recommending reforms thereof. The investigation was 
requested by state troopers tiling whistleblower complaints with Blumenthal’s 
office on the DPS internal affairs process. 

Commissioner Boyle also asked the NY SP to investigate those complaints 
and others received from state troopers about the internal affairs system. The 
report caps a 13-month joint investigation by Blumenthal’s office and NYSP 
involving 262 interviews, 207 of them with current or former sworn DPS 
employees, thousands of pages of documents, and 112 formal requests for 
information. ‘‘Attorney General-NY State Police Report Finds Shortcomings 
in CT State Police Internal Affairs System, Calls for Reforms,” State of 
Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, December 4, 2006. 

2010 

September 22 
8:00AM-5:00PM 

US Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency and State of Connecticut Division of Emergency Services and Public 
Protection conduct Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program 
(HSEEP) Training Course at Sandy Hook Fire Department. The training 
consists of “instructor-led course presentations” in addition to “small group 
activities, videos, and group discussions.” According to the description, 
“the course also provides overviews of HSEEP-related initiatives such as 
technology (e.g., the HSEEP Toolkit) and capabilities-based planning (e.g., 
Target Capabilities List [TCL]). 

This blended approach will give participants hands-on experience that 
readily translates to real-world exercise skills. Activities include creating 
exercise documentation, conducting exercise planning conferences and 
briefings, and practicing exercise evaluation.” “September 22: The HSEEP 
Training Course,” Connecticut Division of Emergency Services and Public 
Protection, n.d. 

2011 

February 23 
n.t. 



Connecticut State Senators Steven T. Mikutel, Leonard A. Fasano, 
Michael A. McLachlan, and Len Suzio introduce SB 1054, a bill “to allow the 



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James F. Tracy 



parents of a child who was a homicide victim to request that the autopsy report 
not be publicly disclosed.” SB 1054: An Act Concerning the Disclosure of 
Autopsy Reports, Sunlight Foundation/Open States, retrieved March 1, 2013. 

February 25 
n.t. 



In a memorandum to the state legislature’s judiciary committee 
Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II questions the 
necessity of SB 1054. “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as an 
institution and I are very concerned about the privacy rights of individuals 
who are examined through our office and particularly with respect to homicide 
victims whose family find their privacy and grieving invaded by a curious 
public. 

I believe that the proposed legislation is redundant of current statute, 
regulations, and practices. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner does 
not now and has never released autopsy reports to the general public, let alone 
autopsy reports of a pediatric homicide victim.” Dr. H. Wayne Carver II to 
Chairman Coleman, Fox and Members of the Connecticut State Judiciary 
Committee, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, February 25. 

March 9 

State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance, a regional celebrity, announces 
on WPLR radio that he will try out for the next season of the Survivor 
television series. Tryouts are next Wednesday at Foxwoods. Vance tells the 
Connecticut Post that he will "do the interview (with Survivor) and explore 
the process.” 

Vance’s son, J. Paul Vance Jr. called WPLR’s “Chaz and A.J.” show 
earlier to nominate his father as a candidate, and Vance Sr. subsequently 
called in to say he was up to the “tall order,” of trying out for the show. The 
show’s hosts said that wardrobe will be important. “Wear your shirt, with 
the police hat and a grass skirt,” said show co-host Chaz. “State Police Lt. 
J. Paul Vance to Try Out for ‘Survivor’,” Connecticut Post, March 9, 2011. 

August 16 

Connecticut Governor Dannell P. Malloy appoints J. Paul Vance Jr. as the 
state’s new claims commissioner. The Republican politician was appointed 
to the job with a $114,000 salary, where he will more or less decide who 
can sue the state. Penelope Overton, “Vance Appointed State’s Claims 
Commissioner,” August 16, 2011. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



October 1 
n.t. 



Existing law preventing disclosure of autopsies to the press or public is 
bolstered through passage and enactment of recommendations encompassed 
in SB 1054 by Connecticut State Senate and General Assembly. 

Section 1. Subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of section 1 -2 1 0 of the general 
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof Effective 
October 1, 2011 

(3) Records of law enforcement agencies not otherwise available to the 
public which records were compiled in connection with the detection or 
investigation of crime, if the disclosure of said records would not be in 
the public interest because it would result in the disclosure of ... “the 
records of an investigation and examination by the Office of the Chief 
Medical Examiner of the death of a person under eighteen years of 
age caused by an apparent homicide, including the autopsy report and 
other scientific findings. ” 

SB 1054 An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Autopsy Reports, Sunlight 
Foundation/Open States, retrieved March 1, 2013. 

2012 

September 

At the start of the 2012-13 academic year Sandy Hook Elementary 
School Principal Dawn Hochsprung announces in a public letter to families 
the Newtown School District’s new security protocol “in all elementary 
schools.” Under the newly-announced security regimen, “exterior doors will 
be locked during the day. Every visitor will be required to ring the doorbell 
at the front entrance and the office staff will use a visual monitoring system 
to allow entry. 

Visitors will still be required to report directly to the office and sign 
in. If our office staff does not recognize you, you will be required to show 
identification with a picture id. Please understand that with nearly 700 
students and over 1,000 parents representing 500 SHS families, most parents 
will be asked to show identification. Doors will be locked at approximately 
9:30 a.m.” “Principal Outlined New Security Procedures at Sandy Hook 
Elementary,” Hartford Courant, December 14, 2012, 8:25PM EST. 



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October 17 
9:47AM 

Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung Tweets photo of emergency 
drill held at Sandy Hook fire station with Sandy Hook Elementary faculty 
and students participating. Esther Zuckerman, “The Sandy Hook Principal’s 
Twitter Feed is Haunting,” The Atlantic Wire, December 14, 2012. 

November 7 
n,t. 



Following Obama’s reelection Senator Diane Feinstein is believed to 
be meeting with relevant federal agencies to lay groundwork for reenacting 
assault weapons ban. “Senator Diane Feinstein Moves to Ban All Assault 
Rifles, High Capacity Magazines, and Pistol Grips,” Market Daily News, 
November 7, 2012. 

November 27 
11:00AM 

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Connecticut Governor Dan 
Malloy announce Project Longevity, a joint venture by the Justice Department 
and State of Connecticut, at a news conference in New Haven, Connecticut. 
The endeavor is described by one law enforcement officials as “a statewide 
approach that targets repeat criminals, creates alternatives for potential gang 
members and rallies neighborhoods against violence.” Federal money is 
being directed to engage Connecticut-based agents, academics and social 
workers who will work for or with the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Dave Ingram, “Project Longevity: Justice 
Department, Connecticut State Officials Target Gun Violence,” Reuters/ 
Huffington Post, November 27, 20 12. See also, Erin Logan, “Attorney General 
Eric Holder Discussing Gun Violence,” WTNH.com, November, 27, 2012. 

December 10 

Newtown Schools superintendent Janet Robinson speaks before the 
Newtown Board of Finance discusses closing one of the town’s schools 
given the area’s 25-year-low in elementary school enrollment. “When 
asked about space needs,” the 12-10 meeting minutes read, “school closing 
declining enrollment Dr. Robinson said that the Ad Hoc Facilities group 
vetted every option. Their recommendation was when elementary enrollment 
is projected to be 1500 a study should be commissioned to begin looking at 
closing a school.” Robinson proposes embarking on a study to determine the 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



feasibility of closure. “Our problem is [that] our parents really cherish their 
neighborhood schools,” Robinson notes, “even though these are not small 
neighborhoods. So, we have to prepare the parents for this in advance.” Janet 
Robinson, “State of Schools Presentation,” in Town of Newtown Board of 
Finance Meeting Minutes, and 2012-12-10 Board of Finance, wmv (electronic 
record at 1:18:13) Town ofNewtown, Newtown, CT, December 10, 2012. 

December 11 
n.t. 



Adam Lanza reportedly visits a sporting goods store in Danbury 
and attempts to purchase an assault rifle but was denied NBC reports. 
Julia Terruso, “Reports: Gunman Had Altercation at School Day Before 
Shooting,” Star Ledger, December 15, 2012. 

December 13 
4:13PM 

Connecticut State Representative John Frey Tweets his presence at the 
Sandy Hook Elem. Holiday concert, 4: 1 3pm. “At the Sandy Hook Elementary 
School concert cheering nieces Joan and Bridget.” http://twitter.com/johnfrey/ 
status/2 793 78604469657601 

n.t. 



The alleged gunman at Adam Lanza has an argument with four staff 
members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, officials tell NBC. NBC reports 
that Lanza went to the school on December 13 and was in an altercation with 
four staff members, three of whom are killed in the December 14 shooting. 
The fourth person will not be at the school the day of the shooting, NBC 
says. Julia Terruso, “Reports: Gunman Had Altercation at School Day Before 
Shooting,” Star Ledger, December 15, 2012. 

December 14 
9:00 AM 

“Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters” emergency exercise 
conducted jointly by FEMA and the Connecticut Department of Emergency 
Services and Public Protection commences 14 miles from Newport in 
Bridgeport Connecticut. “The goal of the course,” the description reads, 

is to enable participants to improve their community’s mitigation and 
emergency operations plan specifically regarding the needs of children. 
The course will provide them with the information needed to address the 



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James F. Tracy 



unique needs of children prior to, during and following disasters. It will 
also provide them guidance and direction on how to form coalitions and 
how to become advocates for the unique needs of children in all aspects 
of emergency management. 

Shepherd Ambellas and Alex Thomas, “Sandy Hook Shooting: Active 
Shooter Drill Confirmed By Law Enforcement Raises Suspicion of False Flag 
Operation, [News Analysis]” theintellhub.com, January 12, 2013. 

9:00AM [estimate] 

“Active shooter drill” exercise commences by Putnam County Emergency 
Response Team in Carmel Connecticut, 45 miles away from Newtown. “By 
grim coincidence, even as the terrible events were unfolding in Newtown on 
Friday morning,” the Southeast Brewster-Patch reports, 

the Putnam County Emergency Response Team (“ERT”) happened to 
be assembled for regular training in Carmel, and team members were 
at that very’ moment engaged in a mock scenario of an active-shooter 
in a school. The ERT is comprised of specially trained and heavily 
armed officers from the Sheriff’s Office and the Carmel and Kent Police 
Departments. When news broke of the Newtown shooting, the Putnam 
County ERT commander called Newtown Police and offered to have the 
ERT respond to the Sandy Hook school, but that response was not needed 
because Connecticut police had already secured the scene. 

Ashley Tarr, “Sheriff: Putnam Officials to Talk School Safety This 
Afternoon, ” Southeast Brewster-Patch, December 18, 2012. 

9:30AM [estimate] 

Only 35 minutes away from Newtown an active shooter drill is taking 
place at a school in Carmel, Putnam County. The operation is conducted 
by the Putnam County Emergency Response Team (“ERT). “The ERT is 
comprised of specially trained and heavily armed officers from the Sheriff’s 
Office and the Carmel and Kent Police Departments,” the Southeast Brewster 
Patch newspaper reports. “When news broke of the Newtown shooting, 
the Putnam County ERT commander called Newtown Police and offered to 
have the ERT respond to the Sandy Hook school, but that response was not 
needed because Connecticut police had already secured the scene.” “Sheriff: 
Putnam Officials to Talk School Safety This Afternoon,” Southeast Brewster 
Patch, December 18, 2012. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



(9:30AM [see below]) 

CNN reports local authorities take the first 911 calls from Sandy Hook 
Elementary School. ‘“Sandy Hook school. Caller is indicating she thinks 
someone is shooting in the building,’” a dispatcher told fire and medical 
personnel, according to 91 1 tapes. “Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened?” 
CNN, December 14, 2012. ( Recording of fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch [below] indicates CNN’s 9:30AM time and account of events is 
incorrect.) 

9:30AM [estimate] 

Attorney Joel T. Faxon of Newtown, who serves on the town’s five-member 
police commission and is a strong advocate of strengthened gun control 
measures, claims he is taking one of his three children to the local middle 
school. As he approaches the school’s front doors, he receives a text message 
that all the town’s schools are on lockdown. This precaution takes place 
on occasion because of the school’s proximity to a state prison. “I told my 
son, ‘Okay, something’s going on. Let’s get out of here.” Returning to his 
vehicle, Faxon sees 

the chief of police in his official car, headed to the Sandy Hook school, and 
I looked at my son and I said, ” ‘Oh my God, there must have been a shooting. ” 
The chief doesn ’t respond to anything other than a very serious incident. 
Within a minute of that time, I got a news report text from the Hartford 
Courant, that said police were responding to incident on Dickenson Drive, 
and I thought, “There s only one thing on that street. And that s the school. ” 

Faxon pulls over to the side of the road. “At that point, literally 50 state 
police and Newtown police cars went by us, and they all went to Sandy Hook 
Elementary School. 1 knew there had been some kind of a catastrophe there,” 
Faxon recalls. Faxon texts Bridgeport police captain James Viadero, who he 
works on a the police commission with. “He was filling me in on what was 
happening, in real time.” As the story took shape in the news only a single 
death was reported. Yet Faxon said the numbers the Viadero relayed “were 
just shocking.” Faxon’s other son goes to another elementary school and was 
at the the doctor’s office for a checkup. 

His daughter, a student at the high school, also in lockdown, was 
texting her father, “‘Daddy, what’s going on?’ I knew she was safe.” Faxon 
observes ambulances heading to the scene. “There were ambulances going 
down there [to the school], but there were no ambulances coming back to 
go to the hospital” with survivors, Faxon said. “Just like in 9/11, when the 
hospitals were all racing to be prepared for the wounded, who never arrived.” 



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James F. Tracy 



Thomas B. Scheffy, “Joel Faxon Has Been Part of the Gun Debate in His 
Hometown,” Connecticut Law Tribune, December 21, 2013. 

9:34AM [estimate] 

Sandy Hook Elementary School reading consultant Becky Virgalla said 
she was in a meeting with Principal Dawn Hochsprung, school psychologist 
Mary Sherlach and other colleagues when the shooter broke into the building. 
When they heard the commotion Hochsprung, Sherlach and lead teacher 
Natalie Hammond proceeded into the hall “to check out the noise that we 
didn’t know [were] gunshots at first,” Virgalla told Reuters Television at a 
December 23 Newtown memorial. “The three of them were shot and they 
yelled back ‘shooter, stay put.’ And they saved my life and the life of four 
others who were at that meeting,” Virgalla said. “Becky Virgalla, Newtown 
Shooting Survivor, Says Principal, Others Saved Her in Sandy Hook 
Rampage,” Reuters JHuffington Post , December 23, 2012. 

9:34AM [estimate] 

Fourth grate teacher Ted Varga arrives for work at Sandy Hook. Moments 
later, according an the account Varga related to the New York Daily News, 
he and four colleagues narrowly escaped a hail of bullets. “You hear screams 
and gunshots, but it is still surreal,” Varga said. “This is an elementary school. 
... 1 heard someone say, ‘Oh my God.’ And then you hear shot after shot 
after shot.” Undaunted, Varga ran down a hallway “filled with smoke and 
the smell of gunpowder,” according to the press account, “to escape through 
an emergency exit and then returned to help three colleagues flee through 
a window. 

An unidentified teacher hid underneath a mound of donated Christmas 
gifts for the needy, hoping the killer jiggling the door to the conference 
room would move on. “She heard heavy breathing,” Varga says. “She knew 
it was him. . . . It’s a miracle we’re alive, but it’s still such a tragedy. You’re 
exposed to a myriad of emotions that even now I can’t really understand.” 
Henrick Karoliszyn, “Five Teachers Escape Death as Massacre Rages in 
Newtown,” New York Daily News, December 19, 2012. 

9:35AM [Estimate] 

In the Sandy Hook library three faculty members hear noises and move 
15 or so students to a storage closet in the library filled with computer 
servers. “Hold hands. Be quiet,” one teacher tells the children. One child 
questions “whether there are pots and pans were clanging. Another thought 
he heard firecrackers. Another worried an animal was coming to the door,” 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



the Washington Post reports. ‘‘They were children in a place built for children, 
and the teachers didn’t know how to answer them ... ‘It’s a drill,’ said a 
library clerk named Mary Anne Jacobs.” Eli Saslow, “Sandy Hook Massacre: 
Teachers Sought to Soothe Children in Moments of Terror,” Washington Post, 
December 15, 2012. 

9:35:52AM 

Recording of Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law 
enforcement radio dispatch indicates potential of active shooter situation at 
Sandy Hook Elementary School. “6-7. Sandy Hook School. Caller indicates 
she thinks there’s someone shooting in the building.” RadioMan911TV, 
“Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT 
State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

9:36:20AM [estimate] 

Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks is among the first on the 
scene at Sandy Hook Elementary. Hicks says she was at the Bee‘s offices about 
one and one quarter miles from the school when she heard about a possible 
shooting on the police scanner. A volunteer firefighter, Hicks is “behind the 
first dozen police officers,” according to John Voket, also associate editor at 
the weekly. This is because the Sandy Hook firehouse where Hicks is stationed 
shares a driveway with the school. 

When Hicks proceeds down the driveway she begins frantically taking 
photos of the scene “through the windshield of her car, with one hand on the 
steering wheel and one holding her camera, Voket says. One well-knonw photo 
featured in news coverage may have been of the first cluster of evacuating 
students, Voket further notes. Julie Moos, “How the Newtown Bee is Covering 
Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting,” Poynter.org, December 15, 2012. 

9:36:38AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch suggests arrival of law enforcement at scene; “front glass has been 
broken [unintelligible]. They’re unsure why.” RadioMan91 1TV, “Sandy Hook 
Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” 
Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

9:37:15AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch indicates continuance of gunfire at Sandy Hook school. “All units: 



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James F. Tracy 



The individual that 1 have on the phone is continuing to hear what she believes 
to be gunfire.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting 
Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

9:37:40AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch indicates law enforcement units and backup continual arrival at 
Sandy Hook Elementary. RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School 
Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 
14, 2012. 

9:38:15AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch indicates “the shooting appears to have stopped. It is silent at this 
time. The school is in lockdown.” RadioMan9 1 1 TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary 
School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, 
December 14, 2012. 

9:39:05AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch indicates citing of shooter suspects fleeing crime scene. “Reports 
that a teacher saw two shadows running past the building-past the gym, which 
would be rear [inaudible] the shooting.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook 
Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” 
Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

9:39:20AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch 
indicates officers’ encounter with and apprehension of additional shooter 
suspects fleeing scene. “Yeah, we got ’em. He’s cornin’ at me down Crestwood 
Way! Coming [inaudible] up the left side.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook 
Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” 
Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

9:40 AM 

Chris Manfredonia, alleged father of a 6-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary 
student, claims he is on his way to the school “to help make gingerbread 
houses with first-graders when he heard popping sounds and smelled sulfur.” 
Manfredonia runs around the facility in attempt “to reach his daughter and 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



was briefly handcuffed by police. He later found his child, who had been 
locked in a small room with a teacher. ‘The whole reason we moved here a 
year ago is because when you drive down the subdivision, it’s a happy place,’ 
said his wife, Georgeann Manfredonia. 

‘“There’s a ton of children here and the families are very kind and 
supportive.’” Richard A. Serrano, Allen Semuals, Tina Susman, “Gunman 
Kills 20, 6 Adults at Connecticut Elementary School,” Los Angeles Times, 
December 14, 2012. 

9:40AM [estimate] 

First responders initially believe there may be two gunmen and are unaware 
of the carnage in the school until they find 18 children and a teacher in a 
classroom closet, a recording of the police dispatch authenticated by police 
indicates. Tracy Connor, “Call For Everything: Police Scanner Recording 
Reveals Early Moments of Newtown Tragedy,” NBC News, December 19, 
2012 . 

9:40:45AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio 
dispatch indicates “one now in room one who [unintelligible] injury to the 
foot, [unintelligible] call for an ambulance [unintelligible]. RadioMan91 1TV, 
“Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT 
State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

9:45:48AM 

Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch 
indicates officers’ discovery of “bodies here” and requests for ambulatory/ 
first responders’ backup. RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School 
Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 
14,2012. 

(9:50AM [see below]) 

CNN reports police and first responders arrive at Sandy Hook Elementary. 
Police did not discharge their weapons. The gunman took his own life with 
a handgun. “Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened?” CNN, December 14, 
2012. ( Recording of fire and law enforcement radio dispatch [above] suggests 
CNN’s 9:50AM time and account of events is incorrect.) 



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James F. Tracy 



10:14AM 

Hartford Courant publishes online Google map of Sandy Hook 
Elementary School. “Map of Sandy Hook Elementary School,” Hartford 
Courant, December 14, 2012. 

10:15AM |estimate] 

Emergency medical technician Peter Houlahan and other EMTs are told their 
expertise is not needed inside the school or elsewhere on school grounds. 
“A person who experiences tragic events will inevitably look back and try 
to identify that last moment where there was still hope,” Houlahan recalls, 
“that instant before all was lost and their life changed forever. 

For the EMS teams staged in front of Sandy Hook Elementary School 
on Dec. 14, that moment came when the Newtown EMS captain ordered us 
to stand down, that there was no one left to help, no one left alive.” Peter 
Houlahan, “Sandy Hook EMT and Former Whittier Resident Reflects on 
Massacre,” Daily News, December 23, 2012. 

[Late Morning] 

In a December 14 Newtown Bee article unidentified school personnel are 
commended for their courage. Among them are school principal Dawn 
Hochsprung, who recounted to Bee Editor John Voket[5] how “a masked 
man entered the school with a rifle and started shooting multiple shots - more 
than she could count - that went ‘on and on. ’” The problem with the account 
was that it conflicted with a subsequent storyline where Hochsprung was the 
first to be killed by the gunmen. 

Original December 14 Newtown Bee story with interview of deceased 
Sandy Hook Elementary Principal Dawn Hochsprung. Captured by 
Bing web spider on 12/13/12. 

From Bingj.com: “Below is a snapshot of the Web page as it appeared 
on 12/1 3/2012 (the last time our crawler visited it). This is the version of 
the page that was used for ranking your search results. The page may 
have changed since we last cached it. To see what might have changed 
(without the highlights), go to the current page. ” 

Three days later the paper issued a retraction and revised the story further. 
No additional explanation was provided concerning what party Volkert 
interviewed and quoted at the crime scene, suggesting a conflicted attempt 
to establish the storyline. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



10:30AM [Estimate] 

“Two unidentified nuns” are photographed by journalist Don Emmert, 
apparently departing the crime scene at Sandy Hook Elementary. One of the 
individuals has what appears to be official identification around her/his neck. 
The photo is carried by the Chicago Tribune with the title, “Elementary School 
Shooting.” “Elementary School Shooting,” Chicago Tribune, December 14, 
2012 . 

10:47AM 

Connecticut State Police report assisting Newtown police in a shooting 
at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. “The Hartford 
Courant [<-hyperlink is to a different story] reports there are multiple injures 
[sic] and unconfirmed reports that one of the shooters is dead while the other 
is still at large. The school superintendent’s office says the district has locked 
down schools to ensure the safety of students and staff. Crimeside Staff, 
“Connecticut School Shooting: Police Investigating Reports of a Shooting 
at Elementary School,” CBS News, December 14, 2012. 

10:47AM 

[Famous photo taken 
by Newtown Bee editor 
Shannon Hicks is 
distributed via CBS and 
other national media.] 

Connecticut School 
Shooting: Police 

Investigating Reports of 
a Shooting at Elementary 
School,” CBS News, December 14, 2012, 1047AM EST. 

11:11AM 

Reuters’ Deputy Social Media Editor Matthew Keys reports that police 
are questioning a handcuffed suspect in relation to the Sandy Hook School 
shooting. Matthew Keys Twitter Feed, December 14, 2012. 

11:18AM 

Reuters’ Deputy Social Media Editor Matthew Keys reports that according 
to the Hartford Courant’s Dave Altamari there are multiple victims in the 




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James F. Tracy 



school shooting, including children. Parents are now at the scene. Matthew 
Keys Twitter Feed, December 14, 2012. 

11:15, 11:18AM 

Reuters’ Deputy Social Media Editor Matthew Keys notes WABC TV 
live aerial coverage shows “law enforcement at on roof of school at center 
of shooting. ’’Matthew Keys Twitter Feed, December 14, 2012. 

11:23 AM 

Reuters’ Deputy Social Media Editor Matthew Keys reports police have 
told ABC News that two gunman are involved in the elementary school 
shooting. Matthew Keys Twitter Feed, December 14, 2012. 

11:30AM 

A Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps dispatcher says a Sandy Flook 
Elementary School teacher was taken to hospital after being shot in the foot. 
“There are reports of multiple injuries,” CBS notes. The Newton Bee reports 
a student with apparently serious wounds was carried out of the facility by 
a police officer. The school superintendent’s office says all schools in the 
district remain in lockdown. Crimesider Staff, “Connecticut School Shooting 
Update: One Gunman Dead, One Teacher Injured at Elementary School,” CBS 
News, December 14, 2012. 

11:34AM 

Police say the shooter is dead and two weapons were recovered from 
him. “The source says one weapon recovered is a Glock and the other is a 
Sig Sauer.” Children and Adults Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, 
December 14, 2012. 

12:29PM 

Hartford Courant mysteriously publishes online Googlemap of 
neighborhood where Nancy and Adam Lanza reside, which is 36 Yogananda 
St. “Map of 46 Yogananda St. Sandy Flook, CT Hartford Courant, December 
14,2012. 

12:27PM 

Anonymous witness and parent of student says that while attending a 



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meeting with faculty regarding her child she heard “at least 100 rounds” 
being fired when the shooting began about 9:30 to 9:35AM. “There was 
a ‘pop pop pop’ in the hall outside the room. Three people went out of the 
room into the hall where the sounds had come from. ‘Only one person came 
back.’” The same witness says “she then called 911. She said she never saw 
the shooter but she later was escorted outside the room past two bodies lying 
in blood.” “Children and Adults Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, 
December 14, 2012. 

1:35PM 

Peter Lanza drives up to his home to encounter Stamford Advocate reporter 
Maggie Gordon in his driveway. Lanza rolls his window down after stopping 
his blue Mini Cooper in his driveway. “Is there something I can do for you?” 
he asks. Gordon tells him she is a reporter for the Stamford Advocate, and 
explains that she was informed that someone at his address had been linked to 
the shootings in Newtown. “His expression twisted from patient, to surprise 
to horror,” Gordon writes. “[I]t was obvious that this moment, shortly after 
1:30 p.m. Friday, was the first time he had considered his family could have 
been involved. He quickly declined to comment, rolled up the window, 
parked in the right side of the two-car garage and closed the door.” Maggie 
Gordon, “Reporter Broke News to Father of Suspect,” Stamford Advocate, 
December 14, 2012. 

1:57PM 

An anonymous federal law enforcement source informs news media the 
death toll is closer to 30 than 20, with most of those killed being children. 
The source, who says he is in contact with authorities on the scene, says 
the suspected gunman had a connection to the school but would not 
elaborate. Children and Adults Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, 
December 14, 2012. 

2:09PM 

CNN is “told that 1 8 to 20 of the dead are children.” Children and Adults 
Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, December 14, 2012. 

2:11PM 

An anonymous law enforcement official tells CNN that the suspect’s 
name is Ryan Lanza and he is in his 20s. Children and Adults Gunned Down 
in School Massacre,” CNN, December 14, 2012. 



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James F. Tracy 



2:39PM 

Anonymous federal law enforcement authorities say “the shooting 
happened quickly and happened in a concentrated area.” Children and Adults 
Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, December 14, 2012. 

2:52PM 

Father of Sandy Hook Elementary School third grade student Stephen 
Delgiudice describes to CBS News what his daughter heard over the 
loudspeaker from the principal’s office. This prompted the teacher to lock the 
classroom door. “We have a pretty good program in Newtown,” Delgiudice 
says, “where basically a code red reverse 911 type of a call, and a, came 
through. [It said] there’s a shooting at the school and naturally I obeyed the 
speed limit and drove immediately to the school. And ah, y’know it was just 
mass-mass chaos. I finally got to my daughter — a friend of mine led me to 
my daughter. I wanted to see her face and hold her, which I did, and once I 
did that there was a sense of relief, but, uhm, it was just chaos.” Crimesider 
Staff, “Connecticut School Shooting: Father Says Student Heard Commotion 
Over Loudspeaker,” CBS News, December 14, 2012. 

3:05PM 

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy explains to the nation that he 
and his administration had been advised in advance that an event of Sandy 
Hook’s magnitude may soon take place in their state. “Earlier today a 
tragedy of unspeakable terms played itself out in this community. Lieutenant 
Governor and I have been spoken to in an attempt that we might be prepared 
for something like this playing itself out in our state.” The remark may be 
in reference to “Project Longevity,” a joint effort of the US Department of 
Justice and Connecticut announced on November 27 “to reduce gun violence 
in Connecticut’s major cities ... To accomplish this, law enforcement, 
social service providers and community members are recruited, assembled 
and trained to engage in a sustained relationship with violent groups.” 
“Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy: ‘You Can Never Be Prepared,” ABC 
News, December 14, 2012. 

3:16PM 

President Obama addresses nation. “As a country, we have been through 
this too many times. Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or 
a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater 
in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago - these neighborhoods are our 
neighborhoods, and these children are our children. And we’re going to have 



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to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like 
this, regardless of the politics.” Children and Adults Gunned Down in School 
Massacre,” CNN, December 14, 2012. 

3:45PM 

There were a total of 27 people dead at the school, Lt. Paul Vance of 
the Connecticut State Police tells assembled reporters. “Eighteen students 
were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others died at the hospital.” In 
addition, six adults were pronounced dead at the scene. Children and Adults 
Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, December 14, 2012. 

3:51PM 

A federal law enforcement official informs CNN that “shooter arrived 
and headed directly toward and to his mother’s classroom. That and the 
other information now emerging - another family member killed, police 
interviews - lead them to believe his mother was the primary target. But 
they note he also came armed with clear intention of mass killing.” Children 
and Adults Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, December 14, 2012. 

3:54PM 

CNN now reports “three guns found at the scene . . . the third weapon 
found on the scene was a .223 Bushmaster. The other weapons, previously 
reported, are a Glock, and a Sig-Sauer. No word on the models of Glock or 
Sig-Sauer.” Children and Adults Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, 
December 14, 2012. 

5:12PM 

WUSA 9 News correspondent Andrea McCarren reports of her encounter 
with Sandy Hook Elementary School nurse’s encounter with the gunman as 
he walked into her office. According to the nurse the two make eye contact 
before the gunman exited the office to begin his murderous rampage. “And 
as I walked down the streets of Newtown to get to this location not far from 
Sandy Hook Elementary,” McCarren reports, “1 happened to run across a 
woman who had tears in her eyes and she was being led by two younger 
women and I asked if she was OK. It turns out she was the school nurse at 
Sandy Hook Elementary and was for fifteen years. She describes the gunman 
coming into her office. They met eyes [sic]. She jumped under her desk, and 
he inexplicably just walked out.” Andrea McCarren, “Aftermath of School 
Shooting,” WUSA 9 News, December 14, 2012. 



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James F. Tracy 



6:34PM 

Witnesses attest to seeing bloodied children, hearing as many as 100 
shots, and “loud booms.” “It was horrendous,” parent Brenda Lebinski 
said, who rushed to the school where her daughter is a third grade student. 
“Everyone was in hysterics - parents, students. There were kids coming 
out of the school bloodied. I don’t know if they were shot, but they were 
bloodied.” Lebinski said another parent in the school “during the shooting 
told her a ‘masked man’ entered the principal’s office and may have shot the 
principal. Lebinski, who is friends with the mother who was at the school, 
said the principal was “’severely injured.’” 

Lebinski’s daughter’s teacher “immediately locked the door to the 
classroom and put all the kids in the corner of the room.” Nearby resident 
Melissa Murphy listened to events unfold on a police scanner. “’I kept hearing 
them call for the mass casualty kit and scream, “Send everybody! Send 
everybody!” Murphy said. ‘It doesn’t seem like it can be really happening. 
1 feel like I’m in shock.’” 

An unidentified girl interviewed by an NBC Connecticut affiliate says 
she heard seven loud “booms” while in gym class. “A police officer came in 
and told us to run outside and so we did.” Dan Burns and Chris Kaufman, 
“Connecticut Gun Rampage: 28 Dead, Including 20 Children,” Reuters, 
December 14, 2012. 

6:34PM 

Photo slide show of Sandy Hook massacre aftermath posted by Reuters 
includes shots taken by Reuters-commissioned photographer Michelle L. 
McLoughlin. This includes an especially famous photo by McLoughlin, 
“Young children wait outside Sandy Hook Elementary School after a shooting 
in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012.” McLoughlin is located in 
New Haven, 49 minutes away from Newtown. Dan Burns and Chris Kaufman, 
“Connecticut Gun Rampage: 28 Dead, Including 20 Children: Slideshow,” 
Reuters, December 14, 2012. 

6:34PM 

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls for greater gun control 
measures. “We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. 
What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from 
Congress,” Bloomberg said. “That must end today.” Dan Burns and Chris 
Kaufman, “Connecticut Gun Rampage: 28 Dead, Including 20 Children,” 
Reuters, December 14, 2012. 



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6:44PM 

US officials representing three different lettered agencies separately 
identify the suspected shooter as Adam Lanza, in contrast to what investigators 
said earlier in the day. No explanation is given regarding what prompted 
confusion among investigators. Lanza’s older brother, Ryan, was taken into 
custody for general questioning in Hoboken, New Jersey but was not labeled 
a suspect. “Children and Adults Gunned Down in School Massacre,” CNN, 
December 14, 2012. 

7:13PM 

Fox News presents “newly released police dispatch audio” of exchange 
between 911 dispatcher and Newtown Police and Connecticut State Police 
encountering two shooting suspects on school grounds. “1 have reports that 
the teacher saw two shadows running past the building, past the gym which 
would be rear [inaudible].” “Yeah, we got him. He’s coming at me, down 
[inaudible].” “911 Call Dispatch Audio Reveals Police Response to Sandy 
Hook School Shooting,” Fox News, December 14, 2012, http://www.youtube. 
com/watch?v= 1 6 AfZXH3 3 eQ 

8:00PM 

CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° reports on the Sandy Hook tragedy using 
video footage from an apparently unrelated event. “At 0:06 in and at 1 :02 into 
the following video on CNN’s website,” the alternative news outlet Intellhub 
observes, “[y]ou will notice the police running through a cross walk area that 
simply does not exist at Sandy Hook Elementary. Take note of the rounded 
curb area that leads into a grassy area of some sort with a tree present in the 
center of the grassy area. This area does not exist on Sandy Hook Elementary 
Schools property.” CNN, “Tragedy Strikes at Sandy Hook Elementary 
School,” Anderson Cooper 360°, December 14, 2012. 

[Night] 

Police recover long gun from automobile in Sandy Hook parking lot. 
“Police Find Long Gun in Trunk of Car in Sandy Hook Parking Lot, Newtown 
Connecticut, ”A®C News, December 14, 2012. 

[Night] 

Unexpurgated NBC News video coverage of Connecticut State Police 
press conference reveals (at 2:32) forensics team recovering two long guns 
from vehicle Adam Lanza’s allegedly drove to Sandy Hook Elementary 



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James F. Tracy 



School. NBC News, “Connecticut School Massacre Briefing from Local 
Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012. 

n.t./various 

Sandy Hook students and staff relate their experiences of gunman Adam 
Lanza’s rampage to journalists. The New York Post reports Lanza arrived 
on December 14th “with high-powered handguns shortly after 9:30AM.” A 
student tells WCBS-TV, “I saw some of the bullets [sic] going down the hall, 
and then a teacher pulled me into her classroom.” Newtown resident Brad 
Tefft says very young children sped past horrific bloodshed to safety. “My 
neighbor’s daughter is in kindergarten at the school,” Tefft tells The Post. “She 
was in the classroom when the shooter came in and shot the teacher. She ran 
out past a couple of bleeding bodies.” The Post claims “roughly 100 shots 
rang out.” “It was horrendous,” parent Brenda Leb inski, whose daughter is in 
the third grade, says to NBC. “Everyone was in hysterics, parents, students. 
There were kids coming out of the school bloodied. I don’t know if they were 
shot, but they were bloodied.” 

Lebinski informs The Post a classmate of her daughter, Sofia, could 
hear a man in the hallway yelling “f-k you” while her and her classmates 
huddled closely in a locked classroom. Someone gained control of the 
school’s intercom system and Gunfire could be heard in the background of 
an announcement. “It really started when she heard gunshots and screams on 
the intercoms,” a relative of a Sandy Hook student tells MSNBC. 

A female student says she was in the gym when the attack began, telling 
WVIT-TV: “The gym teachers told us to go into the corner. I kept hearing 
these booming noises. We all started crying, so all the gym teachers told us 
to go into the office where no one could find us.” Music teacher Maryrose 
Kristopik shelters 15 children by barricading the music classroom door 
as Lanza pounded on it in a fury. “The shooter kept banging on the door 
screaming, ‘Let me in! Let me in!’ But he didn’t get in,” a parent informs 
the Daily Mail. First-grade teacher Kaitlin Roig speaks to ABC, claiming she 
hid her 14 students in the class lavatory, placing some on the toilet so they 
all could fit, and moving a storage unit to block the door. 

The 29-year-old Roig says she locked the door and told the kids, ages 6 
and 7, “to be absolutely quiet. If they started crying, I would take their face 
and tell them, ‘It’s going to be OK,’ ” she said. “I wanted that to be the last 
thing they heard, not the gunfire in the hall.” The sizable law enforcement 
response from law enforcement arrives on the scene in minutes and officers 
begin leading children out, holding hands. Officers tried to shield them from 
the tragedy by telling them to close their eyes. 



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A 9-year-old boy says to ABC News Radio that a cop entered his 
classroom asking: “Is he in here? Then he ran out and then our teacher, 
somebody, yelled, ‘Get to a safe place.’ So we went to the closet in the gym,” 
the boy recalls. “The police were like knocking on the door and they’re like, 
‘We’re evacuating people, we’re evacuating people,’ so we ran out.” Alexis 
Wasik, a third-grader at the school, claims she saw her former nursery school 
teacher taken out on a stretcher. “We had to walk with a partner,’ the 8-year- 
old tells media. Natalie O’Neill, Mel Gray, and Todd Venezia, “A Scene of 
Blood, Horror, and Heroism at Tragic Sandy Hook School,” New York Post, 
December 15, 2013. 

n.t 



CBS correspondent notes how police have a second shooting suspect 
in custody who they are interrogating. “Well, they have an individual in 
custody, who they’re talking to. I am told they’re looking into the person as 
possibly a second shooter. Now that changes the dynamics here a little bit 
which goes from — if in fact this turns out to be confirmed — it goes from a 
lone gunman scenario where somebody has this argument with society and 
wants to take revenge with the most defenseless people in society to a team 
of individuals who’ve gotten together and conspired to do something like 
this.” “School Shooting: Possible Second Gunman in Custody,” CBS News 
Online, December 14, 2012. 

n.t. 



The Associated Press interviews an unidentified Sandy Hook Elementary 
student who describes seeing a shooting suspect prone on the ground in the 
school’s parking lot. Unidentified student: “And then the police like were 
knocking on the door, and they’re like, ‘We’re evacuating people! We’re 
evacuating people! ’ So we ran out. There’s police about at every door. They’re 
leading us, ‘Down this way. Down this way. Quick! Quick! Come on! ’ Then 
we ran down to the firehouse. There’s a man pinned down to the ground with 
handcuffs on. And we thought that was the victim [sic]. We really didn’t 
get a good glance at him because there was a car blocking it. Plus we were 
running really quick.” “Raw: Student Describes Scene at School Shooting,” 
Associated Press, December 14, 2012. 

n.t. 



Newtown residents who knew the Lanzas and relatives speak 
to Hartford Courant reporters. Andrew Lapple was in homeroom with 
Lanza, describing the boy as a skinny, somewhat timid kid “who never really 
talked at all.” “Lapple said he played Little League baseball with Lanza,” 



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James F. Tracy 



the Courant reports, “and remembers he wasn’t very good. Instead, Lanza 
was more of a ‘tech-geek,’ he said. ‘He was always carrying around his laptop 
holding onto it real tight,’’ Lapple said. ‘He walked down the halls against the 
wall almost like he was afraid of people. He was definitely kind of strange 
but you’d never think he’d do something like this.’” 

Another classmate recalled Lanza as being especially reserved. Kateleen 
Soy said she was in Lanza’s seventh-grade class at St. Rose of Lima School 
in Newtown. She recalled Lanza entered the class after the school year was 
underway and departed before the spring term ended. “He was really shy, 
really painfully shy,” Soy said.”He was a little hard to talk to.” Soy then 
recalled seeing him in the hallway when they were both students at Newtown 
High School. “I wanted people to know he wasn’t always a monster,” Soy 
said. “He became one, but he wasn’t always that way.” Former bus driver 
Marsha Moskowitz recalled the Lanza brothers. “You know the trouble kids, 
and you figure, ‘Pfft, that one’s going to be trouble.’ But I never would have 
thought that about them,” she said. 

Moskowitz encountered Nancy Lanza a few weeks prior and “exchanged 
pleasantries,” the report says. Adam Lanza’s grandmother, Dorothy Hanson, 
78, told The Associated Press she was too distraught to speak when reached 
by phone at her home in Brooksville, Fla. “I just don’t know, and I can’t 
make a comment right now,” Hanson said in a shaky voice as she started 
to cry. She declined to comment further and hung up. Matthew Kauffman, 
“Gunman Kills 26 at Sandy Hook School in Newtown,” Hartford Courant, 
December 14, 2012. 

n.t. 



Neighbors and friends of 52-year old Nancy Lanza interviewed 
by Hartford Courant staff say 

she was a kind woman with a sense of humor. Slender, with short hair, 
Lanza was a fixture at neighborhood events such as the Labor Day 
parade, and had a special interest in Christmas lights. ” Lanza’s friend 
and neighbor Rhonda Cullens fought back tears Friday afternoon in the 
doorway of her home on Founders Lane, just around the corner from the 
Lanza residence. She said she met Nancy Lanza playing bunco, a popular 
dice game, with a group of women in the neighborhood, but she hadn 't 
seen her for years since she stopped playing with the group. “ She was 
just a sweet, caring person, ” Cullens said. 

Matthew Kauffman, “Gunman Kills 26 at Sandy Hook School in 
Newtown f Hartford Courant, December 14, 2012. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



n.t. 



Larry Barton, a professor at The American College in Pennsylvania who 
has researched violence in workplaces, public spaces and schools for 30 years 
says the Sandy Hook massacre may be the largest elementary school shooting 
in world history. This is because most incidents of this nature involve high 
school or college students. “This is among the most diabolical crimes, to kill 
kindergarten-age children,” Barton said. “It’s very rare.” Matthew Kauffman, 
“Gunman Kills 26 at Sandy Hook School in Newtown,” Hartford Courant, 
December 14, 2012. 

December 15 
6:01AM 

New York City CBS affiliate reports 2 handguns found inside Sandy 
Hook Elementary School “near Lanza’s body” and “a rifle in the car in the 
parking lot. It’s not known how many rounds he fired,” the reporter notes, 
“but both guns are capable of carrying high capacity extended clips which 
can hold up to thirty rounds.” An eight year old boy. Bear Nikitchyuk, says 
he was attempting to deliver attendance reports to the principal’s office when 
he “saw some of the bullets going past the hall that I was right next to, and 
then a teacher pulled me in to her classroom.” 

Another child says his teacher told the class a wild animal was in the 
building. “We had to lock our doors so the animal couldn’t get in,” the 
boy says. Newtown resident Janice Markey claims that at sunset she was 
searching “for her friend’s missing child and relayed the awftd news. ‘They 
just told us that everybody that’s missing-that’s presumed missing-is in the 
school and are dead [sic]. The two that they transported to the hospital are 
now dead as well.” Tony Aiello, “Elementary School Tragedy,” cbsnewyork. 
com, December 15, 2012. 

7:05AM 

State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance on ABC’s Good Morning America 
with George Stephanopoulos. Vance: This is something that’s going to take 
a significant amount of time. From the onset we’ve had teams looking into 
the background of [Adam Lanza], peeling back the layers of the onion, so 
to speak. We have many, many questions that we need to ask — that we need 
to explore. Stephanopoulos: Three guns found on site? Vance: We haven’t 
discussed that as of yet, but, uh, in excess of three guns. Stephanopoulos: 
More than three guns. And we know also that the guns match those of his 
mother may have had. Have you been able to put that together yet?” Vance: 
We’re — we’re — I don’t have that information specifically- Stephanopoulos: 



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James F. Tracy 



Do you know if they were obtained legally? Vance: Again, that’s something 
we would also have to explore during the investigation. ABC News, “Tragedy 
at Sandy Hook Elementary School,” Good Morning America, December 15, 
2012 . 

8:00 AM 

Federal and state officials confirm to NBC News that there were four 
handguns recovered in Sandy Hook Elementary School. Previous reports 
indicated that two handguns were recovered. Officials also confirm that Adam 
Lanza left the AR15 military style rifle in his automobile. “They say now that 
there were actually /twrhandguns inside the school,” Pete Williams reports 
from Newtown, “not just two as we were initially told. Four handguns and 
apparently only handguns that were taken into the school. We knew that Adam 
Lanza, the man said to be the gunman here, also had an ‘assault-style’ AR- 
15 -style rifle that he had had taken to the school, it was in the car he drove 
there, his mother’s car, but we have been told by several officials that he had 
left that in the car.” Pete Williams, Today Show, NBC News, December 15, 
2012. Kyle Becker, “NBC Admitted: No ‘Assault Rifle’ Used in Newtown 
Shooting,” Independent Journal Review, January 15, 2013. 

8:40 AM 

Sandy Hook resident Gene Rosen comes forth with story that he 
encountered six first grade children from Sandy Hook Elementary in his front 
lawn while feeding his cats. “1 thought they were practicing for a play or Cub 
Scouts, and I went and approached them and it became clear that they were 
so distressed,” Rosen told CBS News. “And 1 took them into my house, and 
they were crying and talking, and I got them into my house, and they were 
crying and talking [sic], and I got them some stuffed animals.” “Neighbor 
Found Terrified Children on Front Lawn after School Massacre,” CBS New 
York, December 15, 2012. 

2:38PM 

Ridgefield state Rep. John Frey tells the NewsTimes that his sister, Tricia 
Gogliettino was driving to Sandy Hook Elementary School on the morning 
of December 15 to drop off a gingerbread house she and her first-grade child 
had completed as a school project. According to Frey, Gogliettino was on 
Riverside Road about one mile from the school when she claims to encounter 
five young children running up the road. Gogliettino stops her car to inquire 
what is wrong. The children reply, “Someone is trying to kill us. We were 
told to run.” 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



Gogliettino put the children in her car and attempted to contact the school 
but got no answer. She then calls Newtown police, who requested she bring 
the children to the police station. Gogliettino remarks that while at the station 
she was allowed to sing to the five children while calling their parents. She 
then receives a text that her own three children who attend Sandy Hook 
Elementary are safe, Frey said. “Someone Is Trying to Kill Us,” Newstimes. 
com, December 15, 2012. 

3:45PM 

MSNBC: “Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver 
provides an update to the media after he and his team examined the victims’ 
bodies at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown following Friday’s 
shootings.” In this exchange Carver and State Police drastically change 
the story on what weapons were used in the shooting, contending that the 
Bushmaster 223 was the sole weapon Lanza wielded. 

Carver exhibits an amazing degree of deferral to law enforcement and 
overall lack of knowledge about the postmortem operation he has just presided 
over. For example, a reporter asks, “Were [the students] sitting at their desks 
or were they running away when this happened?” Carver responds, “I’ll let 
the guys who — the scene guys talk — address that issue. I, uh, obviously 
I was at the scene. Obviously I’m very experienced in that. But there are 
people who are, uh, the number one professionals in that. I’ll let them — let 
that [voice trails off].” 

Shortly thereafter another reporter asks, “How many boys and how many 
girls [were killed]?” Carver shakes his head slowly, “I don’t know.” “Medical 
Examiner: Rifle Primary Weapon Used in Shootings,” MSNBC, December 
15,2012. 

4:32PM 

List of Sandy Hook Elementary victims is released. “Police Release 
Names of Newtown School Shooting Victims,” Hartford Courant, December 
15,2012. 

5:22PM 

Robbie Parker, father of slain Sandy Hook first-grader Emilie Parker, 
makes emotional public statement televised on CNN’s Situation Room with 
WolfBlitzer. “I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you, and 
I want you to know that our family and our love and our support goes out to 
you as well,” CNN recounts Parker saying, as it chronicles its news event. 



271 




James F. Tracy 



“Fighting back tears with his voice cracking,” CNN reports, “Parker asked 
Saturday night that the tragedy ‘not turn into something that defines us, but 
something that inspires us to be better, to be more compassionate and more 
humble people.’” Chelsea Carter, “Shooting Victim’s Dad: ‘The World is a 
better place because she’s been in it,”’ CNN, December 17, 2012. 

8:55PM 

Federal authorities confirm there is no record of Adam Lanza using 
local Newtown shooting range. Michael Isikoff and Flannah Rappleye, 
“Mom of Suspected Shooter-First to Die — Was Avid Gun Enthusiast, Friend 
Says,” NBC News, December 15, 2012. 

8:55PM 

Federal officials claim Lanza took three weapons to Sandy Hook 
Elementary, a Clock and Sig Sauer, and a Bushmaster .223 -caliber 
semiautomatic assault-style rifle. Authorities remain unclear on whether 
all guns were used in the attack. Michael Isikoff and Hannah Rappleye, 
“Mom of Suspected Shooter-First to Die — Was Avid Gun Enthusiast, Friend 
Says,” NBC News, December 15, 2012. 

9:15PM 

“An official with knowledge of the investigation” informs the Associated 
Press that three weapons were found inside Sandy Hook Elementary on or near 
Adam Lanza’s body — a Bushmaster .223 -caliber rifle, a Glock 10mm pistol, 
and a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol. “Three other guns have also been recovered, but it 
was not clear where they were found, the official told AP. They were a Henry 
repeating rifle, an Enfield rifle and a shotgun.” Matt Appuzo and Pete Yost, 
“Connecticut Shooter Adam Lanza’s Guns Were Registered to Mother Nancy 
Lanza: Official,” Associated Press/Huffington Post, December 15, 2012. 

11:31PM 

Adam Lanza’s aunt Marsha Lanza describes Nancy Lanza as “meticulous” 
and “self-reliant,” pointing out that she kept three guns in the home “for self- 
defense.” “She would never leave the guns out,” Marsha Lanza asserts. Josh 
Kovner and Edmund H. Mahoney, “Adam Lanza: A ‘Quiet, Odd’ Loner Living 
on the Fringes "Hartford Courant, December 15, 2012. 

11:31PM 

Law enforcement officials state the murder weapon was one of three guns 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



owned by Nancy Lanza: a semiautomatic rifle or two semiautomatic pistols. 
Josh Kovner and Edmund H. Mahoney, “Adam Lanza: A ‘Quiet, Odd’ Loner 
Living on the Fringes,” Hartford Courant, December 15, 2012. 

11:31PM 

Investigators believe Adam Lanza’s behavior was consistent with 
Asperger’s syndrome, a disorder within “the autism spectrum . . . marked by 
difficulty with social interaction. Many with Asperger’s are otherwise high- 
functioning people. There is no pre-disposition toward violence, experts said.” 
Josh Kovner and Edmund H. Mahoney, “Adam Lanza: A ‘Quiet, Odd’ Loner 
Living on the Fringes f Hartford Courant, December 15, 2012. 

11:44PM 

Law enforcement authorities provide press with detailed information on 
event which becomes bedrock “official” storyline that Adam Lanza murdered 
20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. After shooting 
his mother twice in the head while she lie in bed Lanza proceeded to Sandy 
Hook Elementary where he “fired a half-dozen thunderous rounds from a 
semiautomatic rifle to open a hole big enough to step through in one of the 
school’s glass doors.” He entered the school and shot Principal Hochsprung 
and school psychologist Mary Scherlach who after hearing the “sounds of 
gunfire and shattering glass, bolted into a corridor from a conference room 
across the hall from the classrooms . . . 

The first classroom Lanza reached was teacher Kaitlin Roig’s. Alarmed 
by the gunfire, Roig hid her students in a bathroom and closed her classroom 
door. Lanza passed by Roig’s classroom in lieu of substitute teacher Lauren 
Rousseau’s, shooting all 14 children who investigators believe were huddled 
and clutching one another in fear, in addition to Rousseau and a special 
education teacher who happened to be in the room. Lanza next arrived at 
teacher Victoria Soto’s classroom, who is believed to have hidden her 6- and 
7-year old students in a closet. When Lanza demanded to know where the 
children were, Soto tried to divert him to the other end of the school by saying 
that her students were in the auditorium. 

As six of Soto’s students attempted to flee Lanza shot them, Soto 
and another teacher in the room. Searching for survivors police found the 
remaining seven of Soto’s students still hiding in the closet. They told the 
police what had happened. The two teacher’s aides who were killed were 
Mary Anne Murphy and Rachel Davino. It was unclear which aide was in 
which room when they were killed. The first officer arriving at the school 
found Lanza’s body near the door of Soto’s classroom. The intense violence 



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lasted about 10 minutes. Lanza fired at least three, 30-round magazines with 
deadly accuracy. Two of the people he shot survived. All of the victims were 
shot multiple times. ‘I did seven (autopsies) myself with three to 1 1 wounds 
apiece,’ Chief State Medical Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver III said Saturday. 
‘Only two were shot at close range. I believe everybody was hit (by bullets) 
more than once.’” Edward H. Mahoney and Dave Altimari, “A Methodical 
Massacre, Horror and Heroics "Hartford Courant, December 15, 2012. 

n,t. 



ABC News interviews Sandy Hook Elementary student Ella Seaver who 
experienced the December 14 event. 

Reporter: “What do you remember? What happened?” 

Seaver: “We got to school, did everything we needed to and then we heard 
all this racket at, uhm, our classroom. And we were, like, all scared. Then 
we heard them say, ‘Go in your cubbies.’” 

Reporter: “Everybody went to their cubbies?” 

Seaver: “Mm-hmm.”Reporter: “Did you hear any more bad noises?” 
Seaver: “Yes.” 

Reporter: “And while it was going on your teacher was reading you books 
and keeping you calm?” 

Seaver: “Yeah.” 

Reporter: “You have a good teacher, don’t you?” 

Seaver: “Mm-hmm.” 

Reporter: “D’you love your teacher?” 

Seaver: “Yes.” 

Reporter: “Did she-your teacher-seem nervous?” 

Seaver: “No.” [Shakes head.] 

Reporter: “She just kept her calm and read you a story?” 

Seaver: “Mm-hmm.” Reporter: “Do you remember which one?” 

Seaver: “Uhm, she read us The Nutcracker and another book that was 
about Christmas.” 

ABC News, “Connecticut Shooting Parents Seek Information About 
Loved Ones At Sandy Hook,” December 15, 2012. 

n.t. 



Students at Sandy Hook describe the aftermath of the shooting to reporters. 
“[A]s reporters converged on the school,” the Hartford Courant reports, “the 
children generally seemed more composed than their parents.” While news 
of the incident circulated through Newtown students’ parents are said to 
have filled streets as they converged on the school area. “Police evacuated 



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the children to a nearby firehouse,” the Courant reports, “and tearful parents 
were led into the same building. Most came out relieved, clutching and 
caressing their children. A few came out empty-handed and grief-stricken. 
“I saw policemen — lots of policemen in the hallway with guns,” 9-year 
old fourth grader Vanessa Bajraliu, recalls. ‘“The police took us out of the 
school. We were told to hold each others’ hands and to close our eyes. We 
opened our eyes when we were outside.” 

Bajraliu’s brother, Mergim Bajraliu, 17, “a senior at Newtown High 
School, was at his nearby home when he heard shots, he said. He went to a 
neighbor’s house. ‘Then we heard sirens,”’ he says. Barjraliu says he ran to 
the school and saw a young girl being carried out that looked badly injured. 
Bajraliu says another girl had blood on her face. Bajraliu claims he found 
his sister and whisked her away. 

Richard Wilford said his son Richie, a second-grader, heard what he says 
sounded like “pans falling” when gunshots allegedly rang out. “He said that 
his son told him that his teacher went to check on the noise, then returned to 
the classroom, locked the door and told the students to stand in the corner. 
‘What does a parent think about coming to a school where there’s a shooting?’ 
Wilford said. ‘It’s the most terrifying moment of a parent’s life. . . . You have 
no idea.’ Third Grader Alexis Wasik, 8, tells reporters police accounted for 
every occupant of the school before students were escorted to the nearby 
firehouse. “We had to walk with a partner,” Wasik says. 

One child departing from the school claims there is broken glass 
everywhere. A police officer ran into her classroom, she remembers, and 
told students to run outside and don’t stop until they get to the firehouse. 
Parent Audra Barth, who was leaving the school with her first-grade son and 
third-grade daughter, tells how a teacher put first-graders into the restroom 
when bullets came through the window. A 9-year-old fourth-grader, Brendan 
Murray, says he was in his gym class when he heard “Tots of banging. >” 
Teachers then hustled students into a nearby closet where they remained 
for about 1 5 minutes before police officers appeared and directed them to 
leave the building. The boy says the students then ran down a hallway and 
police could be seen at every door. “‘Lots of people were crying, >” he recalls. 
“N ewtown F amilies Grieve As Medical Examiner Works to Identify Victims 
in Sandy Hook Shooting,” Hartford Courant, December 15, 2012. 

December 16 
6:44AM 

“We too are asking why. We have cooperated fully with law enforcement 
and will continue to do so. Like so many of you, we are saddened, but 



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struggling to make sense of what has transpired.” — Adam Lanza’s father Peter 
Lanza said in a statement. Jonathan Dienst, “Conn. Shooting Suspect Adam 
Lanza’s Father: ‘We Too Are Asking Why,”’ NBC News, December 16,2012. 

10:30AM 

On CB S ’s Face the Nation Bob Orr remarked that at least two computers 
at the Lanza residence were “smashed to smithereens.” CBS correspondent 
and former FBI agent John Miller noted “that subpoenas have been issued 
for all of the shooter’s email accounts and his mother’s accounts, including 
all of the ‘sent’ mail and ‘received’ mail over a long period of time. 

Miller said that Lanza’s mother, Nancy, had battled with the school 
system and eventually took her son out of the schools and home-schooled 
him.” Christopher Keating, “Newtown Update: CBS Says Two Computers 
‘Smashed to Smithereens’ In Lanza Home in Newtown; Subpoenas for All 
Emails of Mother and Shooter,” Capitol Watch, Courantblogs, December 16, 
20 12, n.t. [Such programs are typically taped the preceding Friday afternoon. - 
JT] 

12:12PM 

Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance states Adam Lanza possessed 
“an extraordinary amount of weaponry ... In addition to an assault-style 
rifle and at least two handguns, he also had a shotgun in reserve in the car 
he drove to the school.” 

Lance claims that when Lanza’s body was found he “still had ‘hundreds 
of rounds’ of ammunition in multiple magazines, after having already fired 
hundreds of rounds inside the school.” M. Alex Johnson, “Very Heavily 
Armed Gunman Shot Mother Multiple Times Before Killing 26 at Connecticut 
School, Police Say ,” NBC News, December 16, 2012. 

12:12PM 

Details emerge on Adam Lanza enrolling at Western Connecticut State 
University in 2008 at age 16. Lanza successfully completed six courses 
“including website production, data modeling, Philosophy 101 and ethical 
theory — and compiled a solid 3.26 grade-point average.” 

University officials claim Lanza presented no disciplinary concerns. M. 
Alex Johnson, “Very Heavily Armed Gunman Shot Mother Multiple Times 
Before Killing 26 at Connecticut School, Police Say,” NBC News, December 
16,2012. 



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[Afternoon] 

President Obama travels to Newtown to address grieving community and 
repeatedly allude to gun control legislation in an 18 minute speech. “We’re 
not doing enough. And we will have to change. Since I’ve been president, this 
is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community 
torn apart by mass shootings, [the] fourth time we’ve hugged survivors, the 
fourth time we’ve consoled the families of victims . . . Are we really prepared 
to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are 
too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children 
year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?” Daniela 
Altimari, “We Must Change, President Tells Nation,” Hartford Courant, 
December 16, 2012, 11:16PM EST. 

4:52PM 

Alex Israel was in the same class at Newtown High School with Adam 
Lanza, who lived a few houses down from her. “You could definitely tell he 
was a genius,” Israel says. “He was really quiet, he kept to himself.” Lanza’s 
former bus driver regarded Lanza as “’a nice kid, very polite’ like his brother.” 
Another former classmate remarked that Lanza “was just a kid” — not a 
troublemaker, not antisocial, not suggesting in any way that he could erupt 
like this.” Michael Martinez and David Ariosto, “Adam Lanza’s Family: 
Mom Liked Parlor Games, Guns; Dad, a Tax Exec, Remarried,” CNN.com, 
December 16, 2012. 

8:06PM 

Connecticut State Police Lieutenant J. Paul Vance tells the Huffington 
Post that Adam Lanza specifically used the Bushmaster .223 rifle to carry 
out all of the Sandy Hook murders. “Adam Lanza used a semiautomatic 
Bushmaster .223 rifle during his rampage through Sandy Hook Elementary 
School on Friday,” the Huffington Post reports, “firing dozens of high-velocity 
rounds as he killed 20 children and six adults ... Lanza, 20, carried ‘many 
high-capacity clips’ for the lightweight military-style rifle, Lt. Paul Vance, a 
spokesman for the Connecticut State Police, told The Huffington Post in an 
email. Two handguns and a shotgun were also recovered at the scene. John 
Rudolf and Janet Ross, “School Shooter Adam Lanza Used Military-Style 
Bushmaster Rifle,” Huffington Post, December 16, 2012. 

8:06PM 

Senator Dianne Feinstein announces that she intends to introduce 
legislation reauthorizing a federal assault weapons ban originally passed in 



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the early 1990s during the Clinton administration that was allowed to lapse 
in 2004. John Rudolf and Janet Ross, “School Shooter Adam Lanza Used 
Military-Style Bushmaster Rifle,” Huffington Post, December 16, 2012. 

n,t. 



Several dozen Newtown residents found “Newtown United,” later named 
“Sandy Hook Promise.” The group appears devoted to using the Sandy Hook 
Elementary massacre to campaign for gun control and raise awareness of the 
potentially negative effects of violent video games. Amazingly, less than one 
week after its inception a select number of founding members — including 
one 16-year-old who formerly attended Sandy Hook School-travel to 
Washington, D.C. to meet with federal legislators. Michael Dinan, “Newtown 
United: Grassroots Group Seeks to Curb Gun Violence,” Newtown Patch, 
December 22, 2012. 

n.t. 



Health science and investigative writer Mike Adams observes that much 
like the Tucson Arizona, Aurora Colorado, and Wisconsin Sikh temple 
shootings, mass media are scrubbing their coverage and doctoring the 
storyline to obscure the fact that there were additional suspects and probable 
shooters at the crime scene. Mike Adams, “Newtown School Shooting Already 
Being Changed by the Media to Eliminate Eyewitness Reports of a Second 
Shooter,” Natural News, December 16, 2012. 

n.t. 



As news of Newtown massacre spreads popular music stars and actors 
use social networking sites to state their opinions on the tragedy, with many 
attacking the National Rifle Association (NRA) and calling for gun laws to 
be revamped. “How many times do we have 2 (sic) hear ‘gunman kills’. 
FK (f**k) The NRA!” Pop superstar Cher Tweets to her followers. “We 
cant cure gun violence completely, but we can bring it down to the LEAST 
Murders by GUN in a Civilized Country! 1 know people kill people, but 
HOW MANY FEWER CHILDREN WOULD THIS CRAZY MAN HAVE 
KILLED WITHOUT HIS THREE fkng (P*king) GUNNNNNNNN S (sic). 
He couldn’t have done this kind of damage without 3 guns, multiple clips 
&tons of ammunition no matter how crazy he was.” Actor Zach Braff writes, 

“No one is saying you can’t have your gun, crazy angry gun guy. But 
most of the country is tired of how easy it is to get a gun. Sane people, we 
mustn’t let up on our politicians when this tragedy fades front the top story. 
This time lets not get silenced by the NRA.” Singer Cyndi Lauper opines, 



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“Really so sad today in CT. Why does it have to be so easy to carry guns? 
Just so sad all the way around.” Actress Sophia Bush writes, “We need to 
reform our laws AND our way of thinking. It shouldn’t be easier to get a gun 
than to get mental health care.” Actor Sean Astin Tweets, “The last minutes 
of this awful day pass. . . My anger about gun violence & failures regarding 
related mental illness challenges rages in my soul”. “Cher and Cyndi Lauper 
Join in Calls for Tighter Gun Control,” Daily Express, December 16, 2012. 

n.t. 



Rabbi Shaul Praver of Adath Israel in Newtown, Conn, accompanies a 
grieving Veronica Pozner, mother of slain six-year-old Sandy Hook victim 
Noah Pozner into the funeral home where her son rested. A sheet covers 
Noah’s corpse up to his neck, and a social worker counsels Pozner not to 
remove it. Pozner grieves as Rabbi Praver consoles her. Praver tells the press 
he did not know Noah or his twin sister, Arielle, another Sandy Hook student 
present during the shooting, yet Praver bar mitzvahed the family’s oldest 
son and taught the oldest daughter. “Remembering Noah Pozner, Newtown’s 
Jewish Victim,” Chicago Jewish News, December 21, 2013. 

December 17 
11:32AM 

Connecticut State Police announce they have taken over all crimes scenes 
connected to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for an indefinite 
time as their investigation proceeds. “[We have] seized the crime scenes 
under search warrant [and are] holding on to them indefinitely,” Connecticut 
State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance told reporters at a morning press 
conference. David Lohr, “Sandy Hook Crime Scene: Police ‘Indefinitely’ 
Seize All Sites Connected to Shooting,” Huffington Post, December 17, 2012. 

12:51PM 

Divorce records reveal the parents of Adam Lanza had joint custody 
of their son and that Lanza’s father paid yearly alimony totaling $240,000 
in 2010, $265,000 in 2011 and $289,800 in 2012. Nancy and Peter Lanza’s 
divorce cited irreconcilable and was made final in September 2009. The 
divorce decree designated Adam Lanza’s primary residence with his mother 
in the Yogananda Street address which Peter Lanza quitclaimed to Nancy. 
Peter was designated as solely responsible for the cost of college for Adam 
and brother Ryan and for buying Adam a car. N ancy Lanza seldom discussed 
domestic affairs with friends. She was otherwise regarded as very open and 
generous. Allaine Griffith, “After Divorce, Lanzas Had Joint Custody of 
Adam,” Hartford Courant, December 17, 2012. 



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12:51PM 

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives is uncertain whether Nancy Lanza brought her son to the range 
or whether he ever fired a weapon there. Allaine Griffith, “After Divorce, 
Lanzas Had Joint Custody of Adam "Hartford Courant, December 17, 2012. 

1:09PM 

Sandy Hook Elementary nurse Sally Cox tells ABC of her encounter 
with gunman on the morning of December 14 as she crouched underneath 
her desk. “I could see him from the knees down, 20 feet away, his boots were 
facing my desk,” Cox said in an interview on Good Morning America. “It was 
seconds. . . and then he turned and walked out and I heard the door close.” 

The 60-year-old staff member then heard “loud popping noises” outside 
the infirmary. Cox was joined by a school secretary and together they dialed 
911 before hiding in a supply closet. Lauren Effron, “Sandy Hook School 
Nurse Hid From Shooter, ‘His Boots Were Facing My Desk,’” ABC News, 
December 17, 2012. 

1:15PM 

Funerals for massacre victims begin in Newtown, with first being for 
6 year old Sandy Hook first-grader Jack Pinto. “There are many ways to 
measure what was lost Friday morning at Sandy Hook,” the Washington 
Post observes, “a school shooting that has spurred a national debate about 
public safety and a speech by the president. But no accounting of the damage 
was as searing as the one that began Monday, when parents stepped behind 
lecterns and spoke about the children they would miss.” Eli Saslow and Steve 
Vogel, “Funerals for Newtown Massacre Victims Begin,” Washington Post, 
December 17, 2012. 

1:26PM 

Two witnesses in Sandy Hook school shooting are unidentified adults. 
“There are two adults that were injured in the facility — in the school — and 
suffered gunshot wounds and are recovering,” Connecticut State Police 
Lieutenant J. Paul Vance stated. “Our investigators will in fact speak with 
them when it’s medically appropriate, and certainly they will shed a great deal 
of light on the facts and circumstances of this tragic investigation that we’re 
undertaking.” [Vance’s emphasis] “Key Witnesses in Connecticut School 
Shooting are Survivors "Hartford Courant, December 17, 2012. 



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4:00PM 

A special broadcast of Dr. Mehmet Oz’s syndicated television program is 
devoted to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Oz asks ‘■‘Louie,” 
a Sandy Hook 3rd grader, “what you remember from that day.” “I remember 
that a lot-a lot of policemen were in the, uhm, school,” Louie responds. “Uhm, 
well, a lot-I was like [pause] hiding under-when we were having a drill we 
were hiding under, like . . . ” As Louie hesitates and takes several deep breaths, 
his mother nudges him while Oz taps the boy on the shoulder and changes 
the subject. “Take your time. There’s no hurry. Let me ask you. What would 
you like to say to your teachers?” Semuj l,Hurry-D/L Dr. Oz Interview, 
Sandy Hook Third Grader Louis ‘Having a Drill 1 - National TV,” Youtube, 
February 4, 2013; See also The Dr. Oz Show, “Dr. Oz Visits Newtown,” n.d. 

6:39PM 

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveils “Demand a Plan” 
campaign, sponsored by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns bipartisan coalition 
that requests Congress and President Obama move immediately on gun 
control measures. Bloomberg calls Washington’s inability to act a “stain on 
our nation’s commitment to protect our children.” Carlo Delaverson, “NYC 
Mayor Launches Campaign Against Gun Violence,” NBC News, December 
17,2012. 

n.t. 



Truckloads bearing more than 60,000 toys and stuffed animals begin 
arriving in Newtown, filling up the gymnasium at Edmond Town Hall in the 
center of the township. “When 1 realized that it was getting so large, 1 thought 
that we should get this to the children before the holidays,” Newtown Social 
Services caseworker Ann Benore says. Benore organized the toy giveaway for 
all Newtown children and families. A special collection of toys are reserved 
for student survivors of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Toys are 
first examined by a group of local police officers in the gym. “Children ooh 
and ahh as they enter,” the report notes, “and are handed bags. They walk 
through and choose cuddly bears or games, or both.” Volunteers on hand, 
some of whom have traveled from out of state to offer their services, instruct 
children on how to make Christmas ornaments. In one area, teacher Christina 
Morse Scala helps residents draw and create sculpture with recently donated 
art supplies. “It allows them to express without having to use words. It gives 
them an opportunity to reflect, bring them to a safe place,” Scala observes. 
Diane Orson, “Toy Donations Pour Into Newtown,” National Public Radio, 
December 24, 2012. 



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n.t. 



ABC correspondent Katie Couric interviews Sandy Hook residents Rob 
and Barbara Sibley whose son Daniel was a Sandy Hook Elementary. Barbara 
Sibley claims to have arrived at the school after the assailant(s) forced his 
way in yet before shooting commenced. 

When I got out of [my] car and started walking toward the building I 
noticed a car in the, uh, drop-off area in front of the entrance-like a black 
hatchback, had all the doors open and black sweatshirts strewn around 
it. And again I thought, “ That’s really odd. You don ’t usually see that, 
uhm, at the school. ” And then I walked to the doorway and there was 
another mom standing there. And all the while I’m thinking to myself, 
“The building is so quite, and why is it so quiet” [sic]. And, uh, I said to 
her, “Is something going on? ” And she said, “I don ’t know, but look. ” 
And she pointed and I looked, and, uhm, next to the door where there s a 
buzzer— you have to buzz into the building— the whole plate glass window 
to the right of the door was shattered, and there s glass everywhere. And 
we looked at that and we said, “Well, this is really strange. ’’And as soon 
as, uhm, those words kind of came out of our mouth [sic] uhm, we started 
hearing gunshots. I knew that it was gunfire but y ’know I didn ’t—I just 
ran y ’know? I just ran. 

Barbara Sibley then explains how shortly thereafter she witnessed the 
orderly evacuation of students from the school, was reunited with her son, 
and was invited by him to walk down to the fire house. “One Family’s Story 
of Survival, ’’CatieCouric.com, December 17, 2012. 

n.t. [Date is estimated] 

Facebook establishes a special liaison between itself and Newtown 
families and affiliated organizations seeking to memorialize the victims 
on its platform. According to the Hartford Courant, “shortly after” the 
December 1 4 shooting, the popular social media site “set up a special process 
for them where they have a direct line to someone at Facebook,” Facebook 
spokeswoman Jodi Seth says. “That is unique for Newtown. Every piece of 
content that has been escalated to us through the families and foundations has 
been reviewed, every email has been responded to, and action is taken in line 
with our terms of service,” Seth says. The Facebook representative further 
notes that Facebook is in daily contact with Tom Bittman, chairman of Sandy 
Hook Promise, a local group established as a response to the incident. Jenny 
Wilson, “Facebook Will Scrub Newtown Victims’ Memorial Pages [’Hartford 
Courant, February 25, 2013. 



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December 18 
3:51PM 

The parents of Sandy Hook Elementary substitute teacher Lauren 
Rousseau are informed they cannot view their daughter’s body. “They told 
me, ‘You can’t see (the body),”’ Rousseau’s Canadian father Gilles Rousseau 
informed listeners of Radio-Canada, the French-language CBC. “Because 
most people he shot, it was two or three shots in the face, point-blank.” 

Mr. Rousseau further said the bullets used were powerful enough to tear 
through the school’s walls and leave numerous holes in his daughter’s car 
parked outside. Lise Millette, “Lauren Rousseau, Teacher killed in Newtown 
Shooting, Mourned by Canadian Family,” Canadian Press VmHuffington 
Post, December 18, 2012. 

6:00PM 

Infowars reporter Rob Dew utilizes overlooked excerpts from CBS 
and Associated Press coverage of the massacre to explain how there were 
additional shooter suspects apprehended by law enforcement on the morning 
of December 14 that have been left unaccounted for and since dropped from 
public view. Rob Dew, “Sandy Hook 2 nd Shooter Coverup,” Infowars Nightly 
News, December 18, 2012. 

7:59PM 

Teresa Rousseau, mother of slain Sandy Hook teacher Lauren Rousseau, 
states that her daughter’s 2004 Honda Civic was “riddled with bullet holes” 
when law enforcement authorities removed it from the school’s parking 
lot. Henrick Karolizyn and Larry McShane, “Mother of Substitute Teacher, 
Lauren Rousseau, Killed in Newtown Massacre Stunned: ‘We Survive War, 
She Dies Teaching,”’ New York Daily News. Also, excerpt of newscast, 
“Lauren Rousseau’s Car is Riddled with Bullet Holes in Sandy Hook Parking 
Lot,” n.t. or date. 

December 19 
10:11AM 

Law enforcement authorities claim Adam Lanza was equipped with three 
weapons as he entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14: a 
Bushmaster AR-15 rifle and two handguns — aGlock 10 mm and a Sig Sauer 
9 mm. A shotgun was left in his car. Authorities say Lanza used one of the 
handguns to take his own life but have not disclosed whether it was the Glock 
or the Sig Sauer. “In fact,” CNN observes, “many details remain unknown 



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about the weapons Lanza used that day to kill 20 children, his own mother, 
six other adults and then himself.” Steve Almasy, “Newtown Shooter’s Guns: 
What We Know,” CNN, December 19, 2012. 

1:07PM 

Connecticut Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II says he will work 
with a University of Connecticut geneticist to determine what prompted Adam 
Lanza to act. “I’m exploring with the department of genetics what might be 
possible, if anything is possible [sic],” Carver says. “Is there any identifiable 
disease associated with this behavior?” David Owens, “Obama Calls for 
New Proposals for Gun Control in Wake of Newtown Massacre,” Hartford 
Courant, December 19, 2012. 

11:16PM 

Hundreds attend wake of Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung, 
including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, US Senator Richard 
Blumenthal and US Senator-elect Chris Murphy. Matthew Kauffman, 
“Communities Say Farewell to Four More Victims of Newtown 
Shootings,” Hartford Courant , December 19, 2012. 

December 20 
1:42PM 

US Attorney General Eric Holder makes unannounced visit to Newtown 
to meet with Sandy Hook first responders following a meeting in Washington 
with Vice President Joe Biden, presumably to discuss forthcoming gun control 
legislation. “Holder to Meet with First Responders in Newtown,” Frederic J. 
Frommer, Associated Press /Hartford Courant , December 20, 2012. 

n.t. 



Fox News Radio reports that investigators speaking with the Hartford 
Courantsay 20-year-old Adam Lanza’s electronics may not offer much 
in terms of evidence or motive. They say his cellphone “had little-to- 
no phone calls or text messaging communications history on it. He also 
destroyed his computer in such a way as to prevent a forensic investigation 
of it.” “Investigation Continues Into Newtown Shooting,” Fox New Radio, 
December 20, 2012. 

n.t. 



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Further analysis by alternative news media points to additional Sandy 
Hook shooting suspects overlooked by corporate media. Mali Bradley, 
“Sandy Hook Massacre: Official Story Spins Out of Control,’’ Veterans Today, 
December 20, 2012; James F. Tracy, “The Newtown School Tragedy: More 
Than One Gunman T' Global Research, December 20, 2012. 

December 22 
12:13PM 

The fourth meeting of the new community group Newtown United is 
attended by US Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator-elect Chris Murphy, 
presently a congressman representing Connecticut’s 5th district that includes 
Newtown. Blumenthal and Murphy encourage Newtown United to develop 
its support network nationally and to fight for strengthening gun control 
measures. “1 think this horrific tragedy has changed America in a way that it’s 
ready to stop the spread of gun violence,” Blumenthal says. “There has been a 
seismic change in public consciousness and the political landscape.” Murphy 
similarly remarks, “We have to talk about the celebration of violence in this 
country.” Newtown resident and energy consultant David Stout emphasizes 
that guns are not at issue as much as responsible use of them. 

Some in attendance want the group to be more aggressive. “Now is the 
time to push,” Jason Petrelli says. “We can’t sit back. We can’t get trapped 
in this room. It’s time to push right now.” Before departing Blumenthal 
congratulates Newtown United, saying: “Here you have been hit with the most 
horrific tragedy within recent memory except maybe 9/11, and its impact on 
the town could have been divisive and destructive, but instead it has brought 
people together in a way that has been incredibly impressive.” The major point 
that both Blumenthal and Murphy continually emphasize is that Newtown 
United must find a way to capture and sustain interest in overhauling gun 
legislation in the face of one major enemy: time. “The other side is waiting 
for time to pass,” Murphy reminds those in attendance, referring to the gun 
lobby. Michael Dinan, “Newtown United: Grassroots Group Seeks to Curb 
Gun Violence,” Newtown Patch, December 22, 2012. 

n.t. 



Money, toys, food and other gifts continue to stream in to Newtown 
from around the world. Some parcels are delivered with decorations made 
by schoolchildren. The United Way of Western Connecticut reports the 
official fund for donations had $2.6 million as of Saturday, December 15. In 
addition, other private funds are set up. Former Sandy Hook student Ryan 
Kraft, who once babysat Lanza, sets up a fund with other alumni that has 
collects almost $150,000 and is designated for the Sandy Hook PTA. Area 



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officials are uncertain what they will do with all of the funds collected. 
Pat Eaton-Robb, “Toys, Money, Food Pour In From Around the World as 
Connecticut Town Mourns Shooting Victims,” Yahoo News/Associated Press, 
December 22, 2013. 

December 23 
11:01PM 

Spiritual and psychological leaders in the Newtown community come 
forward to make public pronouncements and assist in the mourning process. 
“This will never leave you and should never leave you. Your tears are proof 
of your love. The trick is, you’ve got to find a new form for your love,” 
observes Dr. John Woodall, a psychiatrist and Newtown resident. Woodall is 
founder of The Unity Project, an organization that has collaborated with the 
US State Department to assist in recoveries from tragedies including 9/11, 
Hurricane Katrina, the war in the former Yugoslavia and conflicts in Uganda 
involving child soldiers. 

The Unity Project, according to Woodall’s blog, “develops essential core 
skills for personal, community and organizational transformation in order 
to prepare young people for a well-rounded, happy and productive life as 
members of a global community.” 

Dr. Woodall says it’s not possible to answer the question of why the 
Dec. 14 tragedy happened. “The only helpful question to ask is what next?” 
Woodall says. Jesse Washington, “After Newtown, Connecticut, School 
Shooting, Healers Say: Decide for Change, For Good,” Cleveland Plain 
Dealer/ Associated Press, December 23, 2012. 

December 25 

n.t. 



Scarlett Lewis, mother of 6-year old Jessie McCord Lewis who was 
slain at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, returns to the grade 
school classroom where her son perished after a grief counselor told Lewis 
that “Native Americans consider the place where the dead are slain to be 
sacred ground,” 

“I went because Jesse lived that. He was there. I wanted to honor him 
and be at the place where he lost his life. ... It was devastating, the 
destruction and damage. I’ve been going to that school for 12 years. 
The front doors and the side glass were completely blown out and gone 
and covered with plywood, but you knew what was under it. ... And then, 
the first two classrooms were completely gone. The windows were all 



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blown out. The only other family who had been there was Miss Soto s 
family. [Victoria Soto was Jesse’s teacher], ... So we took a piece of glass 
because there was glass scattered all over and we had a little ceremony. 
We said we ’re going to carry’ around a piece of glass and we ’re going to 
remember Jesse s bravery’. Whenever we feel like we can ’t do something, 
we ’re going to think about our piece of glass and think about what Jesse 
did running into harm s way. ” 

Tina Burgess, “How One Sandy Hook Mother Lives on After Her Son’s 
Death fExaminer.com, January 6, 2013. 

December 26 
n.t. 



Connecticut State Attorney General Stephen Sedensky files court 
plea to postpone release of contents yielded through five search warrants. 
Sedensky argues that unsealing such findings might “seriously jeopardize” the 
investigation by divulging evidence heretofore known only to other “potential 
suspects.” Pointing to “information in the search warrant affidavits that is 
not known to the general public,” Sedensky also contends that opening the 
warrants would “identify persons cooperating with the investigation, thus 
possibly jeopardizing their personal safety and well-being.” Ralph Lopez, 
“Sandy Hook DA Cites ‘Potential Suspects,’ Fears Witness Safety,” Digital 
Journal, February 5, 2013. 

7:20PM 

Witness to shooting Becky Virgalla interviewed by Connecticut news 
media. [Video of interview at Hartford Courant website has since been taken 
down.] “Witness to the Sandy Hook Massacre,” Hartford Courant, December 
26, 2012. See Deborah Lutterbeck, “Witness to the Sandy Hook Massacre,” 
Reuters, December 23, 2012. 

December 27 
2:00PM [est.j 

The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team visits Newtown to 
visit with kids, hang out, play some ball, etc. Head coach Kevin Ollie recently 
said that he wanted the team to be able to “do something for the kids.” At 
the request of Newtown officials there is no media being permitted for the 
basketball team’s visit. The team’s enthusiasts anticipate the team will remark 
on the visit at a subsequent news conference. David Borges, “UConn Visiting 
Newtown This Afternoon,” New Haven Register, December 27, 2012. 



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James F. Tracy 



n.t. 



The Newtown Bee reports a “reliable local law enforcement source” 
asserts the “man with a gun who was spotted in the woods near the school on 
the day of the incident was an off-duty tactical squad police officer.” Adam 
Gorosko, “Police Union Seeks Funding for Trauma Treatment,” December 
27, 2012. 

December 28 

Attorney Irv Pinsky asks State of Connecticut Claims Commissioner J. 
Paul Vance Jr. for permission to file $100 million dollar lawsuit on behalf of 
unnamed 6-year-old Sandy Hook student for negligence and trauma suffered 
after hearing screaming, cursing, and gunfire over school’s intercom system. 
As a result, the “child has sustained emotional and psychological trauma and 
injury, the nature and extent of which are yet to be determined,” the proposed 
claim asserts. Pinsky’s claim also alleges “that the state Board of Education, 
Department of Education and Education Commissioner had failed to take 
appropriate steps to protect children from ‘foreseeable harm.’” Mary Ellen 
Godin, “Claim Seeks $ 1 00 Million for Child Survivor of Connecticut School 
Shooting,” Reuters, December 28, 2012. 

December 23-30 

Adam Lanza’s body reportedly turned over by Connecticut Medical 
Examiner to father Peter Lanza “sometime last week.” “Father Claims Adam 
Lanza’s Body ,” Hartford Courant, December 31, 2012, 3:38PM. 

December 29 
n.t. 



As part of their investigation Connecticut State Police will not recreate 
what took place in Sand Hook Elementary on December 14 or interview 
any of the surviving students. Instead, police consider recreating the Sandy 
Hook School massacre parking lot scene to determine if the bullets fired into 
the lot were strays the gunman fired in teacher Victoria Soto’s first grade 
classroom, or if he was firing directly at arriving officers. Investigators have 
completed trajectory work in the classroom but wish to line up the police 
cars and see if some of the bullets were potentially aimed at them. No police 
cruisers were hit and no officers. The partial re-creation will in all probability 
be the last analysis state police conduct on school grounds before concluding 
that portion of the investigation. Dave Altimari, Jon Lender, and Edmund H. 
Mahoney, “Police to Re-Create Scene Outside Sandy Hook School,” Hartford 
Courant, December 29, 2013. 



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December 31 
3:12PM 

Connecticut Attorney General says $100 million claim against state on 
behalf of 6 year old Sandy Hook student is “misguided,” and maintains that 
“a public policy response by the U.S. Congress and the Connecticut state 
legislature would be ‘more appropriate’ than legal action.” Edith Honan, 
“Connecticut Attorney General Says Newtown Legal Claim Misguided,” 
Reuters /Hartford Courant, December 31, 2012. 

2013 

January 1 
11:49AM 

State Attorney General George Jepsen says lawsuit brought against 
state lacks a “valid basis.” According to a report Jepsen said “the claims 
commissioner’s office was not the appropriate venue for a discussion about 
the shooting.” Amanda Falcone, Request to Sue State for Newtown Shooting 
Has No Basis, Attorney General Says,” Hartford Courant, January 1, 2013. 

2:42PM 

The Washington Post reports that the Lanza family has retained a public 
relations firm to deal with the press. “When the New York Post reported as 
fact a comment on a fake Facebook page seeming to belong to Adam’s older 
brother,” the Posts Bonnie Goldstein notes, “the Lanza family “spokesperson” 
Errol Cockfield refuted the story.” Cockfield works for Edelman, purported to 
be the “world’s largest PR firm.” He previously worked as communications 
director for Eliot Spitzer when Spitzer was New York’s governor. Until 
spring of 2013 Edelman was chief of stafffor a New York state legislative 
leader. Bonnie Goldstein, “Massacre Message Management is New PR 
Task,” Washington Post, January 1, 2013. 

2:29PM 

New Haven attorney Irving Pinsky withdraws claim on behalf of 
traumatized Sandy Hook student after receiving new evidence. “If the 
state were liable in this instance, where would the state’s liability ever 
end?” State Attorney General George Jepsen said. Brian Dowling and 
Hilda Munoz, “Attorney Withdrawing Request to Sue State in Sandy Hook 
Shootings,” Hartford Courant, January 1, 2013. 



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James F. Tracy 



January 2 
9:10PM 

Jean Henry, a processing technician for the Connecticut Office of the 
Chief Medical Examiner is placed on a paid leave pending an investigation of 
an incident on December 1 6 where she permitted her husband, an unauthorized 
employee, to view the body of alleged mass killer Adam Lanza. Jon Lender 
and Dave Altimari, “State Worker Placed on Leave After Showing Husband 
Adam Lanza’s Body "Hartford Courant, January 2, 2013. 

January 3 
[Morning] 

Sandy Hook students return to classes 7 miles south ofNewtown at Chalk 
Hill School in Monroe Connecticut. The school was closed about two years 
ago and recently cleaned and painted to accommodate students. Amanda 
Falcone, “Sandy Hook Students Back in Class,” Hartford Courant, 5:18PM 
EST, January 3, 2013. 

6:18PM 

Connecticut State Attorney’s Office and State Police refuse to give 
timeline for Sandy Hook shooting investigation. “It cannot be stated too often 
how invaluable and necessary the work of the United States Attorney’s Office, 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, 
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other federal 
agencies was and is to this investigation,” State Attorney General Stephen J. 
Sedensky III said. Christine Dempsey, “No Timeline for Newtown Shooting 
Probe,” Hartford Courant, January 3, 2013. 

Governor Dannel P. Malloy announces intensified gun control measures 
and mental health protocols and intervention through establishment of the 
Sandy Hook Advisory Commission. The “expert panel that will review 
current policy and make specific recommendations in the areas of public 
safety, with particular attention paid to school safety, mental health, and 
gun violence prevention.” “We don’t yet know the underlying cause behind 
this tragedy, and we probably never will,” Malloy said. “But that can’t be an 
excuse for inaction. I want the commission to have the ability to study every 
detail, so they can help craft meaningful legislative and policy changes.” The 
committee’s initial report is due to the Governor by March 15. Governor 
Daniel P. Malloy, “Gov. Malloy Creates Sandy Hook Advisory Commission 
to Address Key Areas in Violence Prevention” (press release), State of 
Connecticut Governor’s Office, January 3, 2013, n.t. 



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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets privately in his office 
with former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was almost 
fatally shot at a constituent meeting in Tucson in January 2011. The sit-down 
was not listed on Bloomberg’s public schedule and a Bloomberg aide refused 
to state what was discussed. Holly Bailey, “Bloomberg Meets with Gabrielle 
Giffords on Gun Control,’’ Yahoo News, January 3, 2013, n.t. 

January 4 
3:40AM 

Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords visits Newtown 
families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook shooting. John Christoffersen, 
“Wounded ex-Rep Giffords Meets with Conn. Families,” Associated Press/ 
Yahoo News, January 5. 

January 6 
6:27PM 

Police say Adam Lanza used a pair of earplugs during his alleged 
December 14 shooting spree. Investigators surmise Lanza may have 
developed the habit while frequenting gun ranges “or to muffle children’s 
screams during his shooting rampage.” ‘“It’s just weird [that he popped in 
earplugs] given what he was about to go do,’ a source said. ‘It’s not like he 
had to worry about long-term protection of his hearing because he had to 
know he wasn’t coming back out of the building.’ 

Police say Lanza was wearing an olive green utility vest packed with 
30-round magazines for the Bushmaster .223 rifle. Lanza left a 20 round 
capacity shotgun in the trunk of the car he drove to the school. Authorities 
say each gun was “registered to his mother, Nancy Lanza, and appear to have 
been bought legally between 2010 and 2012 ... Police also found bullets 
outside the school in the parking lot, including some in at least three cars 
belonging to school personnel, including Rousseau’s car.” David Altimarti 
and Jon Lender, “Sandy Hook Shooter Adam Lanza Wore Earplugs,” Hartford 
Courant, January 6, 2013. 

January 7 
6:45PM 

Corporate media begins broad defense of official Sandy Hook narrative 
against widespread and varied skepticism in alternative media with 
prominent South Florida Sun-Sentinel article centering on Florida Atlantic 
University communications professor James Tracy. In a series of essays on 



291 




James F. Tracy 



his personal blog, Tracy questions conflicting and unusual information on 
the incident’s coverage in mainstream media. Mike Clary, “FAU Prof Stirs 
Controversy by Disputing Newtown Massacre,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 
January 7, 2013. 

n.t. 



The Sandy Hook Shooting: Fully Exposed, a 30-minute video distributed 
via YouTube debuts and will garner 8.5 million views within the first week 
of its release. Max Read, “Behind the Sandy Hook Truther Conspiracy 
Video that Eight Million People Have Watched in One Week,” Gawker.com, 
January 15, 2013. 

January 9 
3:49PM 

Salon.com political reporter Alex Seitz- Wald begins series of articles 
profiling and critiquing Sandy Hook “truth movement.” Alex Seitz-Wald 
“Meet the Sandy Hook Truthers,” Salon.com, January 8, 2013. 

January 11 
8:00PM 

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper launches blistering attack on Florida 
Atlantic University Professor James F. Tracy for “spinning conspiracy 
theories” and declining to appear on his cable news program, Anderson 
Cooper 360 Degrees. “His name is James Tracy. This is a picture of him,” 
Cooper fumed a la Geraldo Rivera, as a photo of Tracy appeared on screen. 
“This is what he looks like. James Tracy is his name. Now, he claims the 
shooting did not happen as reported and may not have happened at all.” 

Earlier that day, CNN and Cooper sent their regional reporter John 
Zarrella to Tracy’s place of employment, where he accosted the dean of his 
college to ascertain Tracy’s location, eventually interviewing the university 
president. Zarrella and his crew then proceeded to Tracy’s residence where 
they taped and aired video footage while telephoning for an on-camera 
interview. Tracy spoke to Zarrella via telephone and issued this statement, a 
portion of which was read on-air, informing Zarrella that his family preferred 
Tracy retreat from the limelight. 

Throughout the segment Cooper appeared indignant that he and CNN’s 
journalistic efforts in the wake of the December 14 tragedy would be 
questioned. “To suggest that reporters on the ground didn’t work to find 
out what happened there on the ground is beyond crazy,” Cooper opined. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



“Everybody asked questions. That’s what we do.” According to Cooper, an 
invitation to appear on the program remains open. Anderson Cooper and John 
Zarrella, “KTH: Exposing Newtown Conspiracy Theory,” Anderson Cooper 
360 Degrees, January 11, 2013. 

January 13 
12:55PM 

Newtown city officials convene community to float proposal of 
demolishing Sandy Hook Elementary School. “Newtown First Selectwoman 
E. Patricia Llodra said that in addition to the community meetings, the town 
is planning private gatherings with the victims’ families to talk about the 
school’s future. She said the aim is to finalize a plan by March.” “Newtown 
Weighs F ate of Sandy Hook Elementary School Building,” Associated Press/ 
New York Post, January 13, 2013. 

n.t. 



Attorney Alexis Haller, Noah Pozner’s uncle, authors and submits a 
detailed memorandum to the Obama Administration’s White House Task 
Force on Gun Violence on behalf of the Pozner family. ” The eight-page 
document “proposes a range of [state, federal and local] legislative reforms 
to help prevent another targeted school shooting . . . The proposals ... are 
based upon conversations within the family, consultations with school security 
experts, independent research related to prior school shootings, and discussion 
with legal professionals to focus on criminal law.” 

The statement urges linking gun control measures to mental health 
diagnoses, federal grants for school security system upgrades, and mandatory 
lockdown drills at public schools. Alexis Haller, “Memorandum from The 
Maternal Family of Noah Pozner to The White House Task Force on Gun 
Violence,” January 13, 2013. 

January 14 
10:07AM 

Probate records are filed for Nancy Lanza, the mother of Sandy Hook 
school shooter Adam Lanza. The estate’s value is not reflected in the probate. 
No will is recorded. Ryan Lanza asks for an attorney to be appointed as 
temporary administrator in order to track assets and determine whether 
Nancy Lanza had a will. Dave Altimari, “Nancy Lanza’s Probate Record 
Filed,” Hartford Courant, January 14, 2013. 



293 




James F. Tracy 



January 16 
11:20AM 

Anderson Cooper AC 3 60 producer Devna Shukla contacts Professor 
James Tracy via email and invites him on Cooper’s program. “Our offer still 
stands to have you on AC360,” Shukla ’s email reads. ” We can send a truck 
to any location of your choice. We can pretape or have you on live at 8pET.” 
“AC360’s 180, "memo ryh oleblog.com, January 31, 2013. 

3:17PM 

James Tracy responds via email to AC360 producer Devna Shukla, “Does 
this Friday at 8PM work?” Shukla does not respond. Tracy forwards the 
email to Shukla twice over the next forty eight hours. Apparently Cooper’s 
“open invitation” for Tracy to appear on AC360 has been revoked. “AC360’s 
180,” memoryholeblog.com, January 31, 2013. 

January 18 
n.t. 



“To eliminate any confusion or misinformation” Connecticut State 
Police reiterate the weapons found at the Sandy Hook Elementary School 
crime scene. “#1. Bushmaster .223 caliber- modelXM15-E2S rifle with high 
capacity 30 round magazine; #2. dock 10 mm handgun; #3. Sig-Sauer P226 
9mm handgun; #4. Izhmash Canta-12 12 gauge Shotgun (seized from car 
in parking lot).” Lt. J. Paul Vance, “Update: State Police Identify Weapons 
Used in Sandy Hook lnvestigation[sic]; Investigation Continues,” State 
of Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 
January 18, 2013. 

January 24 

The 16-member Sandy Hook Advisory Commission established by Gov. 
Dannel P. Malloy to study the Newtown massacre and make recommendations 
for legislative and public policy changes begins work forty days after 
the event. Taking its lead from President Obama’s January 16 Executive 
Orders ostensibly intended to “curb gun violence,” the study group appears 
poised to link firearms ownership with “public safety” and mental health. 
“Gov. Malloy tells the commission that its tasks were both critically 
important and extremely difficult — to balance Second Amendment rights 
with public safety, to improve school safety, and even to help find ways to 
‘reduce the stigma of mental illness. I believe that responsible, law-abiding 
citizens of our state have a right to bear arms — but that right cannot come 
at the expense of public safety,’ Malloy said. ‘We need to develop a common 



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sense way to regulate access to guns. Connecticut is presently among states 
with the strongest gun laws and law enforcement authorities maintain that 
Adam Lanza’s mother legally obtained the weapons used in the massacre. 
Jon Lender, ‘‘Sandy Hook Commission Begins Work,” Hartford Courant, 
January 24, 2013. 

January 28 

Parents of three children killed in the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary 
School massacre testily through the day and into the night on proposed tougher 
gun laws. They appeared before state legislators serving on the Bipartisan 
Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety. An estimated 
2,100 people attended the public hearing at the state Capitol complex. “Noah 
was our 6-year-old force of nature,” Veronique Pozner said of her son who 
was slain in the shooting. “He lies forever motionless in the earth. He will 
never get to attend middle school or high school, kiss a girl, attend college, 
pick a career path, fall in love, marry, have children or travel the world. This 
is not about the right to bear arms,” Pozner said. “It is about the right to bear 
weapons with the capacity of mass destruction. . . . The time is now. Let the 
state of Connecticut become an agent for change. Assault weapons should 
be comprehensively banned. ... The equation is terrifyingly simple: Faster 
weapons equal more fatalities.” 

Although the parents shared their grief and a desire for a specific 
government intervention, they were divided between the two camps: gun 
owners and firearms industry representatives, and proponents of stronger 
gun restrictions. Mark Mattioli, father of James, another child killed, said 
new gun controls are not right response to the massacre. “I believe in simple 
[and] few gun laws,” he said. “1 think we have more than enough on the 
books. We should hold people individually accountable for their actions and 
we should enforce laws appropriately. And I would say we’re not currently 
enforcing them appropriately.” Jon Lender and Christopher Keating, “Parents 
of Massacre Victims United in Grief, Divided on Gun Control,” Hartford 
Courant, January 28, 2013. 

n.t. 



The New York Times publishes an emotional piece featuring the accounts 
of several Newtown police officers who were first to arrive on the scene at 
Sandy Hook Elementary on the morning of December 14, claiming that the 
officers reached the school in three minutes. “The gunfire ended; it was so 
quiet they could hear the broken glass and bullet casings scraping under their 
boots,” the story reads. 



295 




James F. Tracy 



The smell of gunpowder filled the air. The officers turned down their 
radios; they did not want to give away their positions if there was still a 
gunman present. They found the two women first, their bodies lying on 
the lobby floor. Now they knew it was real. But nothing, no amount of 
training, could prepare them for what they found next, inside those two 
classrooms. “ One look, and your life was absolutely changed, ” said 
Michael McGowan, one of the first police officers to arrive at Sandy Hook 
Elementary School on Dec. 14, as a gunman, in the space of minutes, 
killed 20 first graders and 6 adults. It is an account filled with ghastly 
moments and details, and a few faint instances of hope ... 

The stories also reveal the deep stress that lingers for officers who, until 
Dec. 14, had focused their energies on maintaining order in a low-crime 
corner of suburbia. Some can barely sleep. Little things can set off tears: 
a television show, a child’s laughter, even the piles of gifts the Police 
Department received from across the country’. 

According to the article, the officers proceeded “from room to room, 
urgently hunting for the killer before he could do more harm.” This partially 
contradicts theofficial story that Lanza fatally shot himself in the head 
in teacher Victoria Soto’s classroom “when authorities were closing in” 
[Hartford Courant, 3-13-13]. 

Ray Rivera, “Reliving Horror and Faint Hope at Massacre Site,” New 
York Times, January 28, 2013. 

January 30 
n.t. 



Witnesses of the December 14 massacre, including parents, educators 
and first responders, testify at Newtown High School before state legislators 
serving on the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and 
Children’s Safety. Redding CT Police Chief Douglas Fuchs states: “By 
9:45 that morning I found myself with two other Redding police officers 
and Redding EMF standing in the parking lot of Sandy Hook School.” First 
reports of shots being fired at Sandy Hook was at 9:35AM. 

The distance from the Redding Police Department to Sandy Hook 
Elementary is 11.9 miles and takes 26 minutes to travel at legal speed. 
Assuming Fuchs and his cohorts were traveling at twice the legal speed 
(120MPH) to the school it would take them 13 minutes to arrive at 
9:45AM. This is assuming there were in fact calls for backup to surrounding 
communities. Mark Follman and Brett Brownell, “WATCH: Newtown Parents 
Speak Out,” Mother Jones, February 8, 2013. 



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n.t. 

Marshall K. Robinson, forensic scientist for the Bridgeport, Conn. 
Police Department condemned proposed assault weapon and high-capacity 
magazine bans and pointed out the small number of crimes committed by 
high-capacity weapons. Robinson makes his remarks at the Connecticut State 
Capitol before theGun Violence Prevention Working Group convened at the 
Connecticut State Capitol in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School 
shooting. Robinson also spoke in opposition to statements from many of the 
other 1,300 speakers in attendance advocating for banning high-capacity 
AR-15 and AK-47 firearms. 

The forensics expert pointed out that less than two percent of the 
firearms he has examined since 1996 that have been linked to violent crime 
in Bridgeport have been the caliber of AR-15 or AK-47 weapons. Patrick 
Howley, “Forensic Scientist at Newtown Hearing Slams Assault Weapons 
Ban,” Daily Caller, February 4, 2013. 

7:40PM 

CBS News broadcasts interview of Nicole Hockley, mother of Sandy 
Hook shooting victim Dylan Hockley, who was also a neighbor of Nancy and 
Adam Lanza. “That house was kind of a black spot in the neighborhood,” 
Hockley recalls. 

No one spoke about them. I’ve never heard a neighbor speak of them. 
Perhaps if there was more engagement within a community with neighbors 
looking out for each other, supporting each other, then maybe they would 
have gotten help in a different sort of way. But to everyone on your street 
except for one house, and that happens to be a house with people that— or 
a person who does this— that s kind of hard to swallow. So there is some 
regret there. 

Michelle Miller, “Lanza Home a ‘Blackspot’ in Neighborhood,” CBS 
News, January 30, 2013. 

February 18 

Public Broadcasting Service begins a week-long series of programs on 
the Sandy Hook Tragedy intended to bolster the official version of events 
that Adam Lanza was the sole assailant in the school shooting, thereby 
prompting a national discussion on the relationship between mental health, 
school safety, and gun control. “In the wake of the Newtown tragedy,” 
the taxpayer-supported entity announces, “PBS continues its coverage 
with a series of specials from PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, Washington 



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James F. Tracy 



Week, NOVA, Need to Know and more, looking at gun laws, mental illness and 
school security.” PBS.org/WNET, “After Newtown Special Programming,” 
February 18, 2013. 

February 19 
n.t. 



Lieutenant J. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police, the principal 
agency investigating the Newtown mass shooting doesn’t think that alleged 
shooter Adam Lanza was attempting to mimic Norwegian killer Anders 
Breivik or other mass murderers. “It’s someone’s theory, but not ours,” Vance 
told ABC News. “It’s not anything official that we’ve garnered.” Vance 
continued, “I can’t substantiate that at all and, quite frankly, that did not 
come from us. It’s nothing that came from us and we are the official agency 
investigating.” Shushanna Walshie, “CT Police: Reports Lanza Emulating 
Other Shooters Unsubstantiated,” ABC News, February 19, 2013.. 

n.t. 



Newtown officials move to restrict public access to all death and burial 
records of Sandy Flook massacre victims. Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia and 
her staff vow to “do something about” requests for evidence of the tragedy, 
particularly from the press. Aurelia turns to State Representatives Dan 
Carter and Mitch Bolinsky and the leadership of the state association of 
town clerks to develop a bill prohibiting release of actual death and marriage 
certificates except by “legally entitled immediate family members or their 
representatives.” Aurelia and her staff support such legislation with in- 
person or written testimony on February 20 at a hearing of the Public Flealth 
Committee at the Capital’s Legislative Office Building. 

In her solicitation Aurelia writes, “From the horrific tragedy in Newtown, 
awareness has come that we need to protect the personal information 
of all residents in our towns. Over the past seven weeks the media has 
repeatedly contacted my office requesting copies of all the death records. 
They want to know where the victims are buried and how they died. These 
records contain home addresses, who identified the deceased and their 
address, burial location and mother’s maiden name.” Aurelia expresses 
frustration at receiving requests for death certificates and other proprietary 
information from the New York Post , the Connecticut Post , the Associated 
Press, the Hartford Courant, and other news outlets. “Some are also requesting 
all my e-mail correspondence and text messages related to 12/14,” she said. 
John Voket, “Town Clerk, Staff Supporting Access Restrictions to Vital 
Records,” Newtown Bee, February 19, 2013. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



February 21 

Abill is introduced to the Connecticut State Legislature to restrict access 
to death certificates of decedents younger than 18 years of age by State 
Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Newtown. 
“I was shocked, dismayed and deeply disturbed when, on Dec. 17, I got a 
call from the town clerk about the prospect of having a reporter standing 
beside her during one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the United 
States in Newtown looking for death certificates of children,” Bolinsky said. 
Christopher Keating and William Weir, “Lawmakers Seek to Restrict Access 
to Death Certificates,” Hartford Courant, February 21, 2013. 

Week of February 25 

Newtown School Superintendent Janet Robinson steps down forposition 
as superintendent in Stratford, Connecticut. School board chairwoman 
Debbie Leidlein disagreed with Robinson over various policy issues. In the 
summer of 2012, by a 4-3 vote, the panel declined to extend Robinson’s 
three-year contract. This tension apparently subsided after the December 14 
mass shooting because of Robinson’s steadfast leadership in the wake of the 
tragedy. “Superintendent’s Move to Stratford Best Resolution to Months of 
Acrimony [Editorial]” Newstimes.com, February 28, 2013. 

February 27 
1:56PM 

Neil Fleslin, the father of a boy murdered at Sandy Flook Elementary 
School is overcome with grief in front of a US Senate Judiciary Committee 
hearing on a proposed assault weapons ban. “Jesse was the love of my life. 
Fie was the only family 1 had left. It’s hard for me to be here today to talk 
about my deceased son. 1 have to. I’m his voice,” Heslin says. Heslin’s 
son, Jesse Lewis, 6, was among the 20 children and six teachers and school 
administrators murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., 
last December. 

Heslin tells of the last moments he spent with Jesse before dropping him 
off at school on December 14th. “It was 9:04 when I dropped Jesse off. Jesse 
gave me a hug and a kiss and at that time said goodbye and love you. He 
stopped and said, I loved mom too.” Heslin and his wife are separated. Another 
witness at the hearing was Dr. William Begg, a physician present in the 
emergency room the day of the massacre. “People say that the overall number 
of assault weapon deaths is small, but you know what? Please don’t tell that 
to the people of Tucson or Aurora or Columbine or Virginia Tech, and don’t 
tell that to the people in Newtown,” Begg said as his noticeable grief elicited 



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James F. Tracy 



a round of applause from hearing attendees. “Don’t tell that to the people in 
Newtown. This is a tipping point. This is a tipping point and this is a public 
health issue. Please make the right decision.” Arlette Saenz, “Newtown Parent 
Sobs at Senate Gun Hearing,” ABC News, February 27, 2013. 

March 4 

In its March 4 issue The New Yorker magazine publishes a fawning 
profile of the Newtown Bee‘s staff and the weekly newspaper’s coverage of 
the Sandy Hook massacre. The article references “conspiracy theorist” Scott 
DeLarm’s photographic essay, “An Inquisitive Couple’s Visit to Newtown, 
Connecticut,” published here and at GlobalResearch.ca in late January. “A 
man from Ottawa, who contributes to a Web [sic] site called Global Research,” 
the piece reads, 

showed up at the Bee office, and interrogated [Bee editor Curtiss] Clark 
about a sentence in an article that referred to a second suspect who was 
later released. Clark directed him to the police department. When the man 
continued to demand information, Clark said, 7 don ’t intend to discuss 
this any further, ’ turned his back, and shut the door to the newsroom, 
a rare occurrence at the Bee ... Clark tries to be gentle with “ local 
crackpots, ” but he wasn ’t willing to extend the courtesy to people from 
out of town. He and John Voket hoped to find a psychologist who could 
explain to readers why people insisted that covert forces were at work 
in the massacre. Clark had a feeling that the conspiracy theorists were 
troubled by the same mystery > as the journalists who lingered in town. 
There was almost no information about the months that led to the shooting. 
Lanza appeared to have no friends and had smashed his computer s hard 
drive, and in recent years his mother had invited few people inside their 
home. It was still a crime without a story’. “ They need some architecture 
to make sense o f this randomness, ” Clark Said. 

Rachel Aviv, “Local Story: How a Local Newspaper Covers a National 
Tragedy, ”77ie New Yorker, March 4, 2013. 

March 5 

n,t. 



Sheila Matthews, co-founder of the national parents’ rights organization 
AbleChild, and Newtown resident Patricia Sabato collect hundreds of 
signatures from Newtown area residents calling for the release of the complete 
autopsy/toxicology results and medical/psychiatric records of alleged shooter 
Sandy Hook School shooter Adam Lanza. The appeal to Newtown and Sandy 
Hook community members is enthusiastically received. The activists send 



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the petition to lawmakers and hand-deliver a letter to the State’s Medical 
Examiner, H. Wayne Carver II, M.D., requesting that Lanza’s autopsy/ 
toxicology and medical/psychiatric history be made public. The petition 
is accompanied by two full pages of federal and state law supporting the 
release. Kelly Patricia O’Meara, “Was Connecticut Shooter, Adam Lanza, On 
Psychiatric Drugs? Medical Examiner Snubs Official Request for Toxicology 
Report,” Citizens Commission on Human Rights, March 15, 2013. 

n.t. 



Major media outlets criticize what they deem undue secrecy surrouning 
the Sandy Hook School shooting investigation. Representatives of news 
media including the Associated Press assert such records as those obtained 
through search warrants of the Lanzas’ house and cars should be unsealed, 
saying the public has the right to see such records. It is only necessary to 
withhold such records when an investigation might be compromised through 
disclosure. “There seems to be absolutely no reason that they would need 
to. It’s not going to jeopardize the case in any way,” says Linda Petersen, 
chairwoman of the Freedom of Information Committee of the Society of 
Professional Journalists. 

Attorney William Fish, who represented news media in high-profile cases 
in Connecticut where evidence was sealed in Connecticut, also argues the 
sealing is likely unjustified as no prosecution is likely. He conceded, however, 
that “it’s not a surprise to me that a court has in fact sealed the records just 
because it’s so horrible.” John Christoffersen, “Connecticut Massacre Records 
Secret, Media Seek Access,” Associated Press / Yahoo News, March 5,2013. 

March 13 
4:50AM 

Filmmaker Michael Moore makes an appeal on his blog for the release 
of crime scene photos of the Sandy Hook shooting. Moore believes that the 
shock effect of such imagery will bring about the end of the National Rifle 
Association and cause a wave of support for bolstering nationwide gun control 
measures. “And when the American people see what bullets from an assault 
rifle fired at close range do to a little child’s body,” Moore argues, “that’s 
the day the jig will be up for the NRA. It will be the day the debate on gun 
control will come to an end. There will be nothing left to argue over. It will 
just be over. And every sane American will demand action.” 

The famous director invokes photos of Emmett Till’s corpse and the 
victims of My Lai to link Sandy Hook and pro-Second Amendment groups to 
racism, the civil rights struggle, and American imperialism. Dorrie Carolan, 



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co-president of the Newtown Parent Connection, remarks that carrying 
through with Moore’s idea would be a “horrendous offense” to families of 
the Sandy Hook victims. “Sandy Hook Families Rip Michael Moore’s Call 
to Release Crime Scene Photos, ”FoxNews.com, March 15, 2013. 

n,t. 



Before carrying out the Sandy Hook massacre Adam Lanza conducted 
research on numerous mass murders, sources close to investigation inform 
the Hartford Courant newspaper. The Courant earlier reported investigators 
finding news articles concerning Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring 
Breivik at the Lanzas’ Newtown home. Sources now say investigators 
recovered articles and related documents on other mass murders in one of 
two bedrooms he occupied in the house. 

Dave Altamari, Edmund H. Mahoney, and Jon Lender, “But two sources 
said that law enforcement computer forensic specialists are continuing efforts 
to obtain information from the damaged hard drive. Investigators are also 
using all means to obtain information from Internet service providers and 
any other relevant entities to obtain records showing how Lanza used his 
computer, including what sites he visited, what research he conducted and 
with whom he corresponded. Dave Altamari, Edmund H. Mahoney and Jon 
Lender, Adam Lanza Researched Mass Murderers, Sources Say,” Hartford 
Courant, March 13, 2013. 

n.t. 



Sources reveal that law enforcement computer forensic specialists are 
proceeding with efforts to recover information from Adam Lanza’s damaged 
hard drive. Investigators are also pursuing all avenues to gain information 
from Internet service providers and other pertinent entities to find out 
Lanza used his computer, including the websites he visited, the research he 
conducted and who he communicated with online. Dave Altamari, Edmund 
H. Mahoney and Jon Lender, Adam Lanza Researched Mass Murderers, 
Sources Say,” Hartford Courant, March 13, 2013. 

March 14 
n.t. 



Thomson Reuters deputy social media editor Matthew Keys, who 
provided minute-by-minute account of the Sandy Hook shooting aftermath 
via his Twitter, is indicted for purportedly conspiring with hacking group 
“Anonymous” to break into Tribune website in December 2010 shortly after 
his termination from the company. Keys, 26, is being charged with three 



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hacking-related counts and could up to 10 years in prison for the alleged 
incident. Victoria Kim, “Thomson Reuters Editor Matthew Keys Faces 
Hacking Charges,” Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2013. 

March 17 
8:11PM 

Unnamed law enforcement officials say to have uncovered a painstakingly 
thorough 7-foot-long, 4-foot-wide spreadsheet with names, body counts and 
weapons from previous mass murders at the Lanzas’ Newtown residence. ‘It 
sounded like a doctoral thesis, that was the quality of the research,’ claims an 
experienced law enforcement officer who wants to remain anonymous. “He 
didn’t snap that day, he wasn’t one of those guys who was mad as hell and 
wasn’t going to take it anymore,” the source said. “He had been planning 
this thing forever. In the end, it was just a perfect storm: These guns, one 
of them an AR-15, in the hands of a violent, insane gamer. It was like porn 
to a rapist. They feed on it until they go out and say, enough of the video 
screen. Now I’m actually going to be a hunter.” Mike Lupica, “Morbid Find 
Suggests Murder-Obsessed Gunman Adam Lanza Plotted Newtown Conn’s 
Sandy Hook Massacre for Years,” New York Daily News, March 17, 2013. 

March 19 
3:58PM 

Newtown residents want to legally acquire firearms at twice the rate 
as usual in the three months following December 14, Newtown police say. 
Officials received 79 permit applications from the population of 27,000 in the 
three month period following the Dec. 14 massacre. “A good percentage of 
people are making it clear they think their rights are going to be taken away,” 
Robert Berkins, records manager for Newtown police. In the past applicants 
have been hunters, target shooters and business owners. Now, however, 
police see a broader variety of applicants. John Christoffersen, “Newtown 
Gun Applications Jump After Sandy Hook Shooting,” Huffingtonpost.com, 
March 19,2013. 

March 20 

A 28-member task force assembled to decide the fate of Sandy Hook 
Elementary School will decide on the fate of the school structure within the 
span of several weeks. The task force “will review a set of options assembled 
by a team of construction specialists, engineers, architects and land use agents 
assembled by Newtown Land Use director George Benson.” The committee 
intends to make a recommendation to the Board of Education by mid-May, 
a GE Capital report from Selectman Pat Llodra states. 



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James F. Tracy 



In a prelude to the decision public task force meetings will take place 
“4 or 5 times” from early April to mid-May. “I received a great deal of 
information on guiding principles from many conversations with various 
constituent groups and recently asked several additional groups to provide 
their feedback on the guiding principles,” said Llodra. “I reached out to 
parents of the victims, parents of the survivors, Sandy Hook School faculty 
and staff, and Sandy Hook School parents.” 

Following the December 14 shooting local leaders say they are engaging 
residents and specialists in an ongoing conversation about the questionable 
future of the building. In January leaders initiated a series of public town 
hall meetings to solicit opinions from the community. The same officials 
say they also met privately with Sandy Hook Elementary staff and family. 
Davis Dunavin, “Task Force to Talk Future of Sandy Hook School 
Building,” Newtown Patch, March 20, 2013. 

March 21 

Alissa and Robbie Parker, parents of 6-year-old Emilie Parker who died 
in the December 14 massacre, tell CBS This Morning they met with Adam 
Lanza’s father Peter Lanza for over, inquiring on his son’s medical and mental 
health history, as well as other concerns. “I felt strongly that I needed to tell 
him something, and I needed to get that out of my system,” Alissa Parker 
said. “I felt very motivated to do it and then 1 felt really good about it and 
prayed about it. And it was something that I needed to do.” 

Otherwise no information is presented on what was discussed or at what 
time the meeting took place. The Associated Press reports no answer at the 
Parkers’ home phone on the morning of March 21. A message from AP for 
comment from Peter Lanza is given to a spokesman for the Lanza family. 
“Parents of Newtown Victim Met with Killer’s Father,” CBS/Associated 
Press, March 21, 2013. 

March 23 
12:31PM 

President Barack Obama uses his weekly radio address to call on 
Congress to pass a ban on military-style assault weapons and restrictions 
on ammunition sales. “These ideas shouldn’t be controversial - they’re 
common sense. They’re supported by a majority of the American people. And 
1 urge the Senate and the House to give each of them a vote,” the president 
declares. Obama has campaigned for a national program of stricter gun control 
measures since the December 14 Newtown massacre last year claiming the 
public wants strengthened laws to curb mass shootings. 



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Senate majority leader Harry Reid introduced firearms legislation 
earlier in the week that excluded the assault weapons ban, saying there were 
insufficient votes to pass such a bill. The National Rifle Association and its 
congressional Democratic and Republic allies oppose such measures. Paul 
Harris, “Obama Urges Assault Weapons Vote Despite Senate Decision to 
Drop Ban,” UK Guardian, March 23, 2013. 

March 24 

n,t. 



Since the December 14 massacre over 40 organizations raise about 
$15 million, $10.2 million of which is given to the United Way of Western 
Connecticut. The money is purportedly collected to assist victim’s families, 
traumatized students and first responders, establish memorials and potentially 
help rebuild the school. The money collected is now given to a local 
foundation that announces it will be in charge of who receives money and 
what other concerns funds will be directed toward. 

At the weekend a group of 50 parents and family members directly 
affected by tragedies at Aurora, Columbine, the World Trade Center or 
Virginia Tech publicly declare that following past events such charities failed 
to provide aid to the neediest, requesting that funds be sent directly to victims 
and victims’ families. “From this point on, virtually every substantive decision 
is guaranteed to displease someone,” says William Rodgers, Newtown’s 
second selectman and a nonvoting director of the newly-formed Newtown- 
Sandy Hook Community Foundation. Peter Applebome, “Tragedies of the 
Past Offer a Guide as Newtown Aid Goes Unspent,”, Vevv York Times, March 
24,2013. 

March 25 
8:59AM 

Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks responds to query from 
memoryholeblog on whether the multiple photographs she took at Sandy 
Hook Elementary as the shooting transpired have been shared with law 
enforcement or will at any time be made publicly available. 

“The photos 1 took on 12/14 have not been shared with anyone,” Hicks 
said in an email. “We have no plans to do so, either. I would appreciate it if 
you consider this our final contact,” she continued. “I have enough work to do 
without getting involved in the kind of ‘research’ that continues to hurt those 
who live in Newtown.” Shannon Hicks to James Tracy /Memory’holeblog. 
com [email in possession of author], March 25, 2013. 



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James F. Tracy 



March 26 
5:46PM 

News media and Connecticut state political representatives anticipate 
release of crime scene evidence by the state attorney’s office on March 28. 
Whether or not this new information will bring the General Assembly closer 
to voting on a package of gun control bills is still not clear. Chief State’s 
Attorney Kevin Kane is anticipated to release portions of the Sandy Hook 
investigation on Thursday morning. Kane and Danbury State’s Attorney say 
they have briefed lawmakers but will not take questions from the press. 
“There may or may not, his words not mine, be things within that information 
that would be helpful to us,” observes Rep. Larry Cafero. Mark Davis, “Sandy 
Hook Details to be Released,” News8 WTNH.com, March 26, 2013. 

March 27 
3:20PM 

Fire destroys the Newtown house of a family whose children survived the 
Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, rendering them homeless. 
Friends organize to help the family of Hans and Audra Barth. Two of the 
three Barth children attended the school, the 7-year-old being in first-grade 
teacher Kaitlin Roig’s classroom. Roig allegedly saved her 15 students by 
locking the classroom door and barricading them in a bathroom. “They lost 
everything,” a friend helping to collect donations for the family says. “The 
house is going to have to come down, the fire department told them.” The 
Barths’ daughter is a third-grader Sandy Hook third-grader. Their youngest is 
2. Fire Chief Bill Halstead said no one was home when firefighters responded 
to the blaze shortly after 3:20 p.m. The fire originated in the basement near 
a washing machine, yet a precise cause is not known, officials say. John 
Pirro, “Fire Destroys Home of Sandy Hook Survivors,” Stamford Advocate, 
March 28, 2013. 

4:54PM 

Superior Court Judge John Blawie approves Danbury State Attorney 
Stephen Sedensky’s request to redact for an additional 90 days details from 
search warrant applications related to the investigation of the December 
14 massacre. With several motions Blawie removes the name of a “citizen 
witness” referenced in various parts of the search warrant applications for 
Nancy Lanza’s house and car. Apress report cites a lack of clarity on whether 
Sedensky is referring to more than one witness. 

The State Attorney also asked for omission of serial numbers of several 
items retrieved by investigators from Lanza’s 36 Yogananda Street home in 



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Newtown, in addition to phone numbers and credit card numbers related to 
the case. John Pirro and Libor Jany, “Judge Approves Redaction of Details 
in Lanza Search Warrants PNewtimes.com, March 27. 2013. 

n,t. 



The National Day to Demand Action on Gun Control is to be marked by 
President Barack Obama holding an event in the White House East Room 
with mothers, victims of violence and law enforcement officials who support 
gun control. Over 140 events are scheduled in 29 states and are intended to 
target lawmakers on spring break. Vice President Joe Biden says on March 
27 how an anticipated Senate April vote on background checks and more 
draconian penalties for gun trafficking are only the start of the White House’s 
campaign. Limits on “military-style-assault weapons” and high-capacity 
magazines will not be a part of the Senate bill. 

“That doesn’t mean this is the end of the process. This is the beginning 
of the process,” Biden remarks during a conference call organized by Mayors 
Against Illegal Guns with thousands of gun control advocates listening 
in. “The American people are way ahead of their political leaders,” Biden 
contends. “And we, the president and I and the mayors, intend to stay current 
with the American people.” Nedra Pickier, “Joe Biden: Gun Control Votes 
‘Only the Beginning "’’Huffington Post, March 27, 2013. 

March 28 

n,t. 



In a speech at the White 
House President Barack 
Obama tells parents of 
gun victims that the US 
needs to be ashamed if the 
Newtown massacre had 
been forgotten. The speech 
is part of National Day to 
Demand Action, organized 
by the New York City mayor 
Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign. Gun control 
activists complain that Obama failed to take advantage of the Newtown 
victims’ deaths as an opportunity to speed such legislation through Congress. 

Obama dismisses the criticism. “Less than 100 days ago that happened. 
And the entire country was shocked, and the entire country pledged we 
would do something and this time would be different. Shame on us if we 




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James F. Tracy 



have forgotten. 1 have not forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we have 
forgotten,” the President says. Obama wants the Senate to vote on gun control 
measures upon its return from its Easter break on April 8. Ewen MacAskill, 
“Gun Control: Obama Invokes Memory of Newtown in Emotional Plea,” UK 
Guardian, March 29, 2013. 

10:33AM 

Search warrants held under wraps for 114 days reveal that authorities 
found a large cache of guns, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Samurai 
swords and knives in Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza’s 
home. The extensive list of weapons and related artifacts were recovered in 
a search of the residence on December 14. Still, areas of the warrants were 
blacked out, including the name of a witness who told police that Sandy Hook 
Elementary was Adam’s “life.” The following is a list of the astounding array 
of weapons and ephemera law enforcement authorities claim they recovered 
from the Lanza residence: 

• A copy of Adam Lanza’s Sandy Hook report card 

• Two rifles, including the .22 rifle allegedly used to kill Nancy Lanza 

• One BB gun 

• Several thousand dollars worth of computer equipment and video 
gaming consoles 

• A receipt to a gun range in Weatherford, Oklahoma 

• One gun safe in Adam Lanza’s bedroom 

• Ammunition inventory that fills nearly two pages, including full 
boxes of shotgun shells with buckshot, hundreds of rounds .22 rifle 
ammo, and numerous boxes of handgun ammunition 

• One instruction manual for the Bushmaster used in the shooting 

• 12 knives 

• Three Samurai swords 

• One bayonet 

• Eye protection, ear muffs for a gun range (unspecified number) 

• One pair Simmons binoculars 

• Paper targets (unspecified number) 

• Adam Lanza’s National Rifle Association membership certificate 

• Unidentified medical records 

• Printed email conversations (unspecified number) 

• Books about living with Asperger syndrome (unspecified number) 

• Three photographs of a dead person covered in plastic and blood 

• One bank check to Adam Lanza from his mother for “the purchase 
of a Cl 83 (firearm)” [A Cl 83 is in fact a digitalcamera.-JT] 

• One military-style uniform in Adam Lanza’s bedroom 



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Families of the victims briefed March 27th about details of the search 
warrants expressed their hope for more stringent gun control measures “It 
was obvious his intention was to do a lot of damage and he was certainly 
capable of doing that... considering the amount of ammunition he had,” 
says Mark Barden, father of slain first-grader Daniel Barden. “As a parent, I 
would think that [Nancy Lanza] probably could have made different choices 
with how she came to spend her time with her son. Fishing comes to mind,” 
Bardan remarks. Barden says he hopes the release reminds the public of the 
grotesque and horrific nature of the tragedy. “When people forget about it 
they do nothing,” Barden observes. 

Commenting on the snapshot they’ve gotten into Lanza’s life, Barden 
remembered his own son’s kindness and said Daniel used to sit with the 
lonely kids in class. “I think if there were a Daniel Barden in Adam Lanza’s 
class this may not have happened,” he says. 

Nicole Hockley, the mother of slain first-grader Dylan Hockley, was 
among family members who were briefed. “1 haven’t spent a great deal of time 
pouring through them,” she notes. “Everything I learn about the investigation 
is painful because it reminds me of the pain of that day and that Dylan and the 
others aren’t ever going to come back. I’m much more focused on the need for 
change,” says Hockley. “The search warrants contents aren’t as important.” 
Dave Altimari, “Lanza Had Arsenal of Guns, Ammunition, Swords, Knives,” 

Hartford Courant, March 28, 2013. See Reuters original story, Mary Ellen 
Clark, “Connecticut Gunman Had Large Weapons Cache,” New Hampshire 
Union Leader, published at 10:33AM, March 28, 2013. 

11:20AM 

The National Rifle Association contests any association with Adam and 
Nancy Lanza. Itemized findings from search warrants posted online from 
search of Lanza home references a “Adam Lanza National Rifle Association 
Certificate” discovered in a blue and white duffel bag that also contained a 
“‘Blazer’ .22 cal long rifle (50 rounds),” as well as eye and ear protection, 
cartridges and “numerous paper targets.” “There is no record of a member 
relationship between Newtown killer Adam Lanza, nor between Nancy 
Lanza, A. Lanza or N. Lanza with the National Rifle Association,” the NRA 
responded “Reporting to the contrary is reckless, false and defamatory.” 

A review by Politico of the NRA’s website indicates the organization 
offers many “education and training programs,” in addition to “online 
templates for certificates. Organizations around the country also offer what 
they bill as NRA certificates upon completion of certain classes,” Politico 



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James F. Tracy 



reports. “A spokeswoman for the NRA confirmed to POLITICO that it is 
possible to possess a certificate from the NRA without being a full-fledged 
member of the organization.” Katie Glueck, “AdamLanza, Mom Had NRA 
Certificates "Politico. com, March 28, 2013. 

11:14PM 

Iran, Syria and North Korea prevent adoption of the first international 
small arms treaty to regulate the $70 billion global market, arguing that it the 
agreement is flawed and fails to ban weapons sales to rebel groups. British 
UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant immediately sought to bypass the move 
by sending the draft treaty to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to put it to a 
hasty vote in the General Assembly. 

UN diplomats say the 193 -nation General Assembly can put the draft 
treaty to a vote as early as Tuesday. “A good, strong treaty has been blocked,” 
Britain’s chief delegate Joanne Adamson observes. “Most people in the world 
want regulation and those are the voices that need to be heard. This is success 
deferred,” she says. 

US delegation head Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman 
tells reporters, “We look forward to this treaty being adopted very soon by 
the United Nations General Assembly,” believing there will be a “substantial 
majority” in favor. Louis Charbonneau, “Iran, North Korea, Syria Block UN 
Arms Trade Treaty,” Reuters, March 29, 2013. 

March 30 
6:31PM 

Msgr. Robert Weiss of St. Rose’s Catholic Church in Newtown has served 
eight funeral Masses for Sandy Hook Elementary victims. “This tragedy 
has brought more people to our church,” Weiss says. “And where once a 
mom would bring her daughter to Sunday Mass while dad took his son to 
a ballgame, whole families come together now. There’s an amazing unity. 
The mantra in town, with green and white signs — the school’s colors — in 
store windows and bumper stickers is now, ‘Newtown Chooses Love.’ The 
common decency is overwhelming.” 

Weiss looks at a poster of the children and educators slain on Dec. 14 
behind him and brushes away a tear, the Daily News reports. “Even a priest 
who dispatches eight children to their eternal reward sometimes needs a 
priest himself.” Denis Hamil, “Newtown Reborn: A Season of Renewal for 
a Town in Pain,” New York Daily News, March 30, 2013. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



April 1 
4:49PM 

CBS News claims to have obtained college transcripts from Western 
Connecticut State University and a photo of Adam Lanza taken for his college 
identification card. “CBS News Obtains Adam Lanza’s College Records,” 
CBS News, April 1,2013. 

April 2 
11:51AM 

Mark Mattioli, whose six-year-old son was killed in the December 
shooting, lauds the National Rifle Association for a “comprehensive program” 
the organization proposed to confront gun violence in schools. “I wanted to 
take a minute and applaud . . . the NRA for coming up and spending the time 
and resources on putting a program like this together,” Mattioli says. “If you 
look what took place in Sandy Hook, mental health is a huge component of 
that. We need to focus research attention, research. We need the kids to be 
safe.” Molly Reilly, “Mark Mattioli, Father of Sandy Hook Victim, Praises 
NRA School Safety Plan,” Huffington Post, April 2, 2013. 

2:02PM 

Through a large majority the UN General Assembly adopts an agreement 
to control the conventional weapons trade. Member states vote 154 to three 
(Syria, Iran and North Korea), with 23 abstentions, to control the $64bn annual 
market. The US forced a vote on the proposal after the three upstart nations 
stood in the way. Russia and China abstain from the vote at UN headquarters 
in New York. Loud cheers are heard in the chamber as votes are counted. 
The treaty is the first legally binding international agreement regulating the 
conventional weapons trade. Yet it allegedly provides for states to recognise 
“the legitimate political, security, economic and commercial interests ... 
in the international trade in conventional arms” Amnesty International 
and the International Red Cross laud the agreement for its contribution to 
“humanitarian concerns.” Ian Black, “UN General Assembly Passes First 
Global Arms Treaty,” UK Guardian, April 2, 2013. 

April 3 
n.t. 



President Barack Obama travels to Connecticut Monday to intensify 
pressure on Congress for passage of a wide-ranging package of gun control 
laws. Obama speaks at the University of Hartford with Sandy Hook 



311 




James F. Tracy 



Elementary victims’ invited to attend. This is the president’s second trip in 
one week to Connecticut before traveling to Colorado shortly thereafter. 
Nendra Peckler, “Obama Plans to Promote Gun Control in Connecticut,” 
Associated Press/Yahoo News, April 2, 2013. 

April 4 
n.t. 



Governor Dannel P. Malloy signs into law far-reaching 139-page bill 
restricting firearms and ammunition magazines similar to the ones allegedly 
used by Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook Elementary. The law adds over 100 
firearms to the state’s assault weapons ban and establishes what lawmakers 
call “the nation’s first dangerous weapon offender registry,” in addition to 
eligibility rules for buying ammunition. 

Accompanied by family members of Sandy Hook victims, Malloy 
signs the bill shortly after the General Assembly spent 1 3 hours deliberating 
legislation that will give the state some of the most stringent gun laws in the 
country next to California, Colorado and New York. “This is a profoundly 
emotional day for everyone in this room,” Malloy announces. “We have 
come together in a way that few places in the nation have demonstrated the 
ability to do.” 

House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz: “I pray today’s bill — the 
most far-reaching gun safety legislation in the country — will prevent other 
families from ever experiencing the dreadful loss that the 26 Sandy Hook 
families have felt.” Susan Haigh, “Connecticut Governor Signs Sweeping 
Gun Limits Into Law,” Associated Press/Yahoo News, April 4, 2013. 

n.t. 



Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revokes the 
federal firearms license of East Windsor, Connecticut gun store owner 
David LaGuercia. Mr. LaGuercia’s shop allegedly sold guns used in the 
Newtown school massacre and another mass shooting in Connecticut. 
ATF spokeswoman Deb Seifert says she cannot be more specific on why 
LaGuercia’s license, originally suspended December 20 and 60-days with 
opportunity to appeal, was permanently revoked. “It’s been revoked,” Seifert 
said. “It’s final at this point.” 

The ATF will not say whether there is any criminal investigation into 
Riverview Gun Sales. ATF agents raided the outlet in December, just days 
afterthe Dec. 14 massacre. Lee Higgins, “Newtown Massacre: Gun Dealer’s 
License Yanked,” April 4, 2013. 



312 




Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



April 7 
4:00PM 

Members from seven families of Sandy Hook Elementary victims 
representing “Sandy Hook Promise” appear on national television to offer 
remembrances of their loved ones and discuss avenging their deaths through 
the pursuit of more rigorous gun control legislation. Connecticut legislators 
“have passed almost everything we were hoping they would,” David Wheeler, 
father of 6-year-old Ben Wheeler says. “And they have done it in a bipartisan 
way which is a great message to send out to the other states and to the federal 
government as they begin this process.” Scott Pelley, “Newtown Families on 
Gun Control,” CBS News, April 7, 2013. 

April 8 

President Obama appears before supportive audience of 3,100 at 
University of Hartford in Connecticut to invoke memory of Sandy Hook 
School massacre victims and promote gun-control. “If you’re an American 
who wants to do something to prevent more families from knowing the 
immeasurable anguish that these families here have known, then we have 
to act,” Obama intones. “Now’s the time to get engaged. Now’s the time 
to get involved. Now’s the time to push back on fear and frustration and 
misinformation. Now’s the time for everybody to make their voices heard, 
from every statehouse to the corridors of Congress.” Republican Senator 
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says that he will unite with at least 13 other 
Republicans opposed to the gun control legislation recently passed by the 
Senate Judiciary Committee. Peter Applebome and Jonathan Weisman, 
“Invoking Newtown Dead, Obama Presses Gun Laws,” New York Times, 
April 9, 2013. 

n.t. 



A literary agent for New York Daily News reporter Matt Lysiak proffers 
a book proposal by the reporter on the Sandy Hook School massacre. Lysiak 
aided in breaking a story that collected alleged emails written by Adam 
Lanza’s motherprior to Lanza’s shooting spree. “Far from being the random 
act of insanity most have portrayed,” the book’s synopsis reads, “the shooting 
that shocked our nation was a meticulously well-thought out premeditated 
attack years in the making by a violent video-gamer so obsessed with ‘kills’ 
that he was willing to go to any length to achieve the top score . . . 

Drawing on hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of police files, 
psychologists, and going over a decade’s worth of emails from his mother 
to close friends that chronicled Lanza’s slow slide into mental illness, this 



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book will be the first comprehensive account of the tragedy.” Jason Boog, 
“Daily News Reporter Shopping Book About Newtown Tragedy,” New York 
Daily News, April 8, 2013. 

April 11 

The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms releases records 
indicating that Nancy Lanza purchased the Bushmaster XM15 rifle on 
March 29, 2010, and SIG Sauer 9 mm pistol on March 16, 2011, indicating 
on the federally-mandated ATF paperwork that she was buying the guns for 
herself. Lee Higgins, “ATF Records Show Nancy Lanza Gun Purchases,” 
April 11,2013. 

April 12 
n.t. 



The New York Times reports broad bipartisan Congressional support for 
legislation linking increased funding of mental health care measures with 
emerging gun control legislation. 

The US Senate proposes financing the establishment of more community 
mental health centers, grants that will go to training teachers to detect early 
signals of mental illness and direct more Medicaid dollars for mental health 
care. In addition, resources will go toward suicide prevention initiatives and 
mental health counseling for children who have experienced trauma. The 
proponents of one bill say an additional 1 .5 million people with mental illness 
would be brought into the system each year. 

Supporters of such measures argue increased mental health care will 
preclude more killers like Adam Lanza from going undetected. “This is 
a place where people can come together,” Michigan Democratic Senator 
Debbie Stabenow says. “As we’ve listened to people on all sides of the gun 
debate, they’ve all talked about the fact that we need to address mental health 
treatment. And that’s what this does.” 

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas agrees. “This is actually 
something we can and should do something about. We need to make sure 
that the mentally ill are getting the help they need.” “This is our moment,” 
says Linda Rosenberg, president of the National Council for Community 
Behavioral Healthcare. “I hate the connection between gun violence and 
the need for better mental health care, but sometimes you have to take what 
you can get.” Jeremy W. Peters, “In Gun Debate, No Rift on Better Care for 
Mentally 111,” New York Times, April 13, 2013. 



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April 15 
2:50PM 

Two makeshift explosive devices detonate at the finish line of the famed 
Boston Marathon. The 2013 run is designed in honor of the 26 Sandy Hook 
Elementary School victims with its 26 mile course. It is also attended by 
several parents from Newtown participating in the event. Yet the six Sandy 
Hook families present are caught in a milieu of emergency vehicles and 
carnage. “It was all those same things, the police and fire and all of that. It’s 
severely traumatic,” says Lauren Nowacki, one of the Newtown parents in 
town for the April 15 marathon. “We thought things were finally getting to 
a good place from the first go-around, and now this.” 

Nowacki ’s daughter was at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14 but 
was not injured. Nowacki says all of the Newtown marathoners completed 
the run before the bombs detonated that purportedly injure 170 people and 
kill three. “Boston really reached out to us,” Nowacki notes. “Even after the 
bombing, the communications director from the race called to make sure all 
the kids were all right.” The Newtown group will now attempt to reciprocate 
by honoring the victims of the Boston bombings with their own annual race, 
the Sandy Hook 5k Run. Colleen Curry, “Sandy Hook Families at Boston 
Marathon Traumatized Again,” ABC News, April 16, 2013. 

April 16 
n.t. 



Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Protection 
Commissioner William M. Rubenstein release information they have collected 
on dozens of charities established to collect funds as a result of the Sandy 
Hook Elementary School massacre. The 43 charities reporting have collected 
close to $20.4 million and distributed nearly $2.9 million. Charitable purposes 
include: providing direct financial support or other assistance to the 26 
families; creating scholarships and one endowment for Newtown children 
and youth; memorial trees; a physical memorial; and “to recognize, support 
and inspire acts of kindness.” 

The information was collected following issuance of a voluntary request 
for information by the Attorney General and Commissioner sent March 28 
to 69 charities either registered with the state Department of Consumer 
Protection, or publically identified as receiving donations related to Sandy 
Hook Elementary. An April 12 response was suggested. “This request was 
an initial step to provide information to the public, Newtown community 
and other charitable organizations trying to meet the needs of those affected 
by this tragedy,” Attorney General George Jepsen says. “My office will be 



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following up with the charities that did not respond.” State of Connecticut 
Department of Consumer Protection and Office of the Attorney General, 
‘■‘Attorney General, Consumer Protection Post Information Received From 
Sandy Hook-Related Charities,” State of Connecticut, April 16, 2013. 

April 17 
n.t. 



In a major defeat for the Obama administration the US Senate votes 
against several proposed laws that would have greatly expanded government 
control over private firearms ownership. The bipartisan compromise to expand 
background checks, ban assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines 
did not receive the 60 votes necessary and agreed to by both parties. Senators 
also refuse Republican proposals to increase access to concealed-carry 
permits. Family members who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook Elementary 
massacre sit in the Senate gallery alongside survivors of the Virginia Tech 
and Tuscon shootings, and yell at Senators, “Shame on you,” after the votes. 
In a dour tone President Obama reinforces this sentiment at the White House. 
Surrounded by Sandy Hook parents, he says it was “a pretty shameful day 
for Washington.” 

Republican and Democratic Second Amendment advocates assert that 
their votes are based on logic rather than passion. “Criminals do not submit 
to background checks now,” Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa. 
“They will not submit to expanded background checks.” Incensed at the 
Senate’s action, Obama claims the gun rights lobby “willfully lied” about the 
proposed laws, and both parties had “caved to the pressure. But this effort is 
not over.” Jonathan Weisman, “Senate Blocks Drive for Gun Control,” New 
York Times, April 17, 2013. 

April 24 
n.t. 



Newtown Action Alliance puts together Sandy Hook Team 26 to walk 
in the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 5K fundraiser, scheduled 
for Saturday, May 18, in Hartford Connecticut. The Sandy Hook Ride on 
Washington cyclists, who rode on bicycles from Newtown to Washington 
DC, share their logo and name with the walkers. “We were very inspired by 
the cyclists taking physical action to make a change,” Sandy Hook Team 
26 Captain Erin Nikitchyuk says. Each walker has a minimum personal 
goal of $100, “but our overall team goal is to be among the leading teams,” 
Ms Nikitchyuk remarks. “We feel like it would be very powerful to have 
a Newtown team showing the world with our team efforts that we support 
finding solutions to the many complex contributing factors that resulted in our 



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tragedy [at Sandy Hook School],” she says. The team is raising the money it 
will then give to NAMI in assisting families touched by mental illness, and 
to educate and advocate on mental health issues. “We saw the worst case 
scenario [at Sandy Hook Elementary] of what happens when we don’t support 
people who need it,” Ms Nikitchyuk notes. “[Adam Lanza] obviously needed 
more support than society gave him.” Nancy Crevier, “Sandy Hook Team 26 
Will Walk for Mental Health,” Newtown Bee, April 24, 2013. 

April 27 
9:53PM 

Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra and Schools Superintendent Janet 
Robinson are selected to deliver the keynote address at Western Connecticut 
State University’s undergraduate commencement ceremonies on May 12. 
Llodra and Robinson have been celebrated for their leadership following 
the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14. Llodra 
is said to have been “a steadfast force for the community as it has wrestled 
with everything from the international outpouring of donations to advocacy 
for new gun laws and decisions on the fate of the existing Sandy Hook 
Elementary School building. 

Llodra has been to Washington on several occasions to address issues 
that have emerged from the tragedy, while she continued to direct the town 
in its everyday business and preparation of a budget for the 2013-14 fiscal 
year. Robinson was recently recognized by the University of Connecticut as 
Outstanding Superintendent of the Year. She is also a veteran educator and 
school psychologist who has received national acclaim for her management 
of the Newtown school system following December 14, 2012. Alongside 
Llodra, Robinson has been a national advocate for addressing gun violence, 
mental health issues, and school safety concerns. Nanci G. Hutson, “Llodra 
and Robinson to Address WCSU Graduates,” news times, com, April 27, 2013. 

May 7 

Parents of several children slain in the Sandy Hook School massacre 
travel to Delaware to tout stricter gun control measures. Delaware Governor 
Jack Marked exhibits photos of Daniel Barden. Anna Marquez-Greene and 
Dylan Hockley-three of those killed in the shooting. Parents coax Marked 
and Delaware legislators to pass laws banning high capacity magazines. 

“There were 1 1 other children in that classroom that escaped and are at 
school today because that shooter had an issue with reloading and gave them 
enough time to run for their lives,” Dylan Hockley’s mother, Nicole tells the 
press. Marked intends to sign legislation expanding background checks to 



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almost all private sales in Delaware. “Parents of Newtown Victims Come to 
Delaware,” ABC 6 Philadelphia Action News, May 7, 2013. 

May 10 
10:34PM 

A task for of 28 Newtown elected officials voted unanimously to tear 
down Sandy Hook Elementary School and rebuild another structure on 
the site. The proposal will go to the local school board, then face a voter 
referendum. A study concludes that erecting a new school will cost $57 
million. A total 430 Sandy Hook students now attend a revamped school 
renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School in the nearby town of Monroe. 
Officials say groundbreaking can begin in spring and a new building might 
reopen in January 2016. Dave Collins, “Newtown Panel: Tear Down Sandy 
Hook Elementary School, Rebuild,” Huffington Post, May 10, 2013. 

May 11 
12:09PM 

CBS anchor Scott Pelley says in a speech at Quinnipiac University that 
journalists “are getting big stories wrong, over and over again.” The CBS 
presenter did not hesitate in absorbing part of the blame. “Let me take the 
first arrow: During our coverage of Newtown, I sat on my set and I reported 
that Nancy Lanza was a teacher at the school. And that her son had attacked 
her classroom. It’s a hell of a story, but it was dead wrong. Now, I was the 
managing editor, I made the decision to go ahead with that and I did, and 
that’s what 1 said, and I was absolutely wrong. So let me just take the first 
arrow here.” Daniel Halper, “Our House is on Fire,” The Weekly Standard, 
May 11,2013. 

May 12 
12:05AM 

Huffington Post publishes Mothers Day-themed piece by Sandy Hook 
Elementary shooting mothers Jackie Barden, Nicole Hockley, Nelba Marquez- 
Greene, and Francine Wheeler. When Dylan, Daniel, Ana and Ben came into 
this world,” the women write, 

each of ns, in our own way, promised to prepare them for life as best we 
could. Every’ day, approximately 11,000 new American moms will make 
that same loving promise as they meet their babies for the first time. Within 
a blink of an eye, these women will become intimately familiar with things 
like bath time, sunscreen, chocolate chip pancakes, and the healing power 



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of multi-colored band-aids. And with each new moment shared, something 
magical will happen. These new moms will get to experience life when it 
is lived for others. They will learn more about themselves than they ever 
imagined. The sacrifices are immeasurable. But so is the joy. Hearts melt 
with every "Mommy, will you please read me another story? ” "Mommy, 
will you give me another kiss good-night? ” "Mommy, I love you. ” 

Jackie Barden, Nicole Hockley, Nelba Marquez-Greene, and Francine 
Wheeler, “AMother’s Promise,” Huffington Post, May 12, 2013. 

May 13 

Toxicology tests conducted as part of the autopsy on Adam Lanza by 
Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver II show Lanza 
had no alcohol or dings in his body when he allegedly shot and killed 20 
children and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14. Such 
an exam looks for traces of most every legal and illegal drug. Lanza had no 
traces of alcohol or any illegal drugs such as cocaine or marijuana in his body. 
Nor were there indications of antidepressants or anti-psychotic medications. 
The tests were conducted as part of the autopsy by state Chief Medical 
Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver II. Sources said his final report has been 
turned over to state prosecutors and investigators. David Altimari, “Sandy 
Hook Shooter Adam Lanza Had No Drags, Alcohol in System f Hartford 
Courant, December 14, 2013. 

May 14 
6:14PM 

Newtown Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia is refusing to release death 
certificates for the 26 victims of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School 
shootings, stating that such information on death certificates might be used by 
identity thieves. Passage of two bills on the topic are before the Connecticut 
Legislature pursued ostensibly by the Aurelia are uncertain because the 
legislative session runs out on June 5 and thus the proposed legislation may 
not get a vote. 

This is the view of Rep. Ed Jutila, D-East Lyme, co-chairman of the 
General Assembly’s Government Administration and Elections Committee. 
“We’re down to three-and-a-half weeks, and there are lots of bills trying to 
make it through that funnel,” he said. “This may or may not be one of those.” 
Jutila has not recently heard from the legislation’s proponents and notes there 
is vigorous opposition to the idea of limits on information available to the 
public for centuries. One bill would impose a six-month waiting period and 
the second creates new “short” death certificates with limited information. 



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James F. Tracy 



including the person’s name, gender, cause of death, and date and place of 
death, for issuance to to the public. There are exemptions for next of kin, 
funeral directors and others. Susan Haigh, “Fate of Newtown Death Certificate 
Bills in Doubt, ’Wewsafqy/Associated Press, May 14, 2013. 

May 21 
n.t. 



Connecticut’s chief prosecutor and the state’s governor’s working behind 
closed doors with legislative leaders on a law to withhold records on the police 
investigation of the massacre at Sandy Flook Elementary School massacre. 
Such records would include victims’ photos, tapes of 91 1 calls, and more. The 
secret move was discovered when The Hartford Courant received a copy of an 
email by assistant state’s attorney Timothy J. Sugrue, a top assistant to Chief 
State’s Attorney Kevin Kane. In the communication Sugrue discussed options 
assessed thus far, which involve possibly blocking release of statements 
“made by a minor.” Jon Lender, Edmund H. Mahoney, and Dave Altimari, 
“Bill Drafted in Secret Would Block Release of Some Newtown Massacre 
Records,” Hartford Courant, May 21, 2013. 

June 1 
n.t. 



A change.org petition addressed to Connecticut state legislators 
requests the swift passage of HB 6424 that will seal from public view police 
investigation records pertaining to the Sandy Hook massacre under seal. As 
of June 3 the petition reaches 40,000 signatures. The petition is ostensibly 
established by shooting victim parents Nicole and lan Hockley, Mark and 
Jackie Barden, and Jimmy Greene and Nelba Marquez-Greene. “We are 
parents and family members who lost children in the terrible tragedy at Sandy 
Hook elementary school in December 2012,” the petition’s prefatory message 
reads. “We’re coming together to urge the Connecticut legislature to pass a 
law that would keep sensitive information, including photos and audio, about 
this tragic day private and out of the hands of people who’d like to misuse it 
for political gain.” Keep Sandy Hook crime scene information private: Urge 
the CT Legislature to Pass HB 6424,” change.org, June 1, 2013. 

June 5 
1:35AM 

The Connecticut Senate and House vote overwhelmingly to approve 
legislation preventing public disclosure of photos and videos of homicide 
victims and other records in reaction to the Newtown school massacre. The 



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law had been vigorously advocated by parents of Sandy Hook massacre 
victims. The Senate passes the bill 33-2 after seventeen minutes of debate. 
At 2:00AM the House approves the bill with a vote of 130-2. The legislation 
proceeds to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is expected to sign it, and will take 
effect immediately. The law applies to all homicide cases — not just to the 
Newtown investigation. 

A previous version of the proposal applied specifically to Newtown. 
The new measure will prevent release of photos, videos, or digital video 
images “depicting the victim of a homicide, to the extent that such record 
could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of the 
personal privacy” of the victim or surviving family members. Audio records 
of 911 emergency calls would still be released as public records under the 
state Freedom of Information Law according to the new version of the law 
achieving passage. Jon Lender, “Senate, House Overwhelmingly Approve 
Bill to Withhold Homicide Photos, Other Records, After N ewtown,” Hartford 
Courant, June 5, 2013. 

June 12 

Parents of the children allegedly killed at Sandy Hook Elementary travel 
to Washington DC to lobby Congress for tightening laws on gun ownership, 
including expansion of background checks. In particular, the families meet 
with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a co-creator of the unsuccessful background 
check bill. House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric 
Cantor. The Newtown families were in Washington one month earlier when 
the gun bill failed to pass the Senate. Shortly after the Senate voted against 
the plan, several parents whose children were killed at Sandy Hook appeared 
alongside President Obama at the White House as he vowed to continue 
the fight to enact stricter gun laws. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden 
vow to intensify their campaign for stricter gun control measures. Arlette 
Saenz, “Newtown Families Return to Capitol Hill as Six Month Anniversary 
Approaches,” ABC News, June 12, 2013. 

June 14 
9:3oAM 

Newtown residents and others congregate at Edmond Town Hall to 
commemorate the six month anniversary of the Sandy Hook School massacre. 
Later that day Cristina Hassinger, daughter of Sandy Hook principal Dawn 
Hochsprung, is escorted by Newtown police on a tour of the school’s interior, 
wanted to see the school where her mother was murdered. Hassinger says 
she wants to put the pieces together of what happened on December 14th. 
“We went inside,” Hassinger recalls. 



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James F. Tracy 



We went through the doors into the lobby ... The police officer (who was 
also with ns) turned the lights on as we went through. He was ahead 
of us, like he’d done this before ... It did smell weird, not strong but it 
smelled. It was closed off. It smelled really musty. There was no fresh air. 
It smelled stale. That definitely made it more difficult ... We went down 
the hall and she (the detective) showed me the conference room where the 
meeting was that Mom, Natalie (Hammond) and Mary (Sherlach) were 
in. We didn ’t go inside. It was empty. Not even the furniture was in it ... 
We went into the classrooms. There is nothing in the classrooms. They 
are all completely stripped. No desks. They had ripped out the floors. A 
lot of the ceiling tiles were missing and the windows were all boarded up 
... They still don ’t know which classroom was attacked first. They aren ’t 
sure which. If they do (know), they didn ’t tell us. She (the detective) was 
telling us what they’ think happened. The only witnesses are little kids, 
and what s trauma and what s real, it s all very muddy. 

Dirk Perrefort, “A Daughter’s Pilgrimage to Where Mother 
Was Slain, ’’Newstimes.com, June 15, 2013.10:00AM [Estimate] 
“No More Names: The National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence,” a nationwide 
bus tour promoting stricter gun control and observing victims of gun violence, 
touches off in Newtown Connecticut, the site of the December 14, 2012 
Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. The tour is scheduled for 100 days, will 
traverse 25 states, and is being sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, 
a non-profit founded in 2006 by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg 
and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. 

Before Newtown’s Town Hall a ticker counts the number ofpeople killed 
by gun violence since the Sandy Hook shootings. “Over 6,000 have been 
killed by guns in six months alone,” declares Steve Barton, a survivor of the 
July 2012 shootings in Aurora, Colo., and a speaker at Friday’s ceremony. 
“More than 3,000 will be killed while this bus is on the road if we don’t do 
anything.” William Holt, “Bus Tour Commemorating Sandy Hook Takes 
Gun Control on the Road,” Yahoo! News, June 14, 2013. 

n.t. 



Hartford Courant publishes an article promoting “a special report” that 
is to appear in the paper’s June 16 Sunday edition. The piece is accompanied 
by a video, ‘“The Ducks of Sandy Hook Elementary 1 Help Newtown 
Children Cope,” featuring Monroe Connecticut police officer Todd Keeping 
being interviewed on the significance of toy rubber ducks to recovery from 
trauma. The teaser calls attention to six month anniversary of shooting and 
the Newtown community’s attempt to deal with the tragedy. “Healing is a 
slow process with erratic progress,” the article observes. 



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For some, the memories remain jarringly fresh — the acrid smell of gun 
smoke, the sharp echo of gunshots over the public-address system, the 
crunch of broken glass underfoot as crying children fled — and far worse 
for others, particularly students and staff at the school office and near the 
first-grade classrooms where 26 classmates and educators died. For some 
students, little sounds can be terrifying — the slam of a dropped book, a 
car door closing or a raised angry’ voice. Little things can be reassuring, 
too. Decorated plastic ducks were among the boxes of teddy bears, toys 
and school supplies that flooded Newtown in the weeks after the Dec. 14 
shooting, filling public spaces and garages and, eventually, warehouses. 
Sent by Kiwanis members in Colorado, the ducks were plucked from the 
other donations by Monroe police Officers Todd Keeping and Michael 
Panza, who provided security’ at the new school. They put the ducks on 
windowsills and desks, and in classroom nooks, hoping to ease tension 
and brighten dark days. “Adults like them. Kids like them, ” Keeping 
said. “It just got to the point where I’d hear, ‘My kid is riding the bus 
and looking forward to coming to school again. 

Matthew Sturdevant, “Inside Sandy Hook School: Six Months 
Later,” Hartford Courant, June 14, 2013. 

June 18 
4:25PM 

Death certificates for the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims are 
released as a result of mounting pressure from news media and a FOIA request 
after the Newtown Town Clerk’s office refused to turn them over to the press. 
The one page documents indicate that 24 of the 26 victims died from “multiple 
gunshot wounds,” but little more. Bill Hutchinson, “Sandy Hook Elementary 
School Death Certificates Released,” New York Daily News, June 18, 2013. 

June 30 
n,t. 



The Hartford 
Courant reports that an 
internet user believed by 
law enforcement authorities 
to be Sandy Hook gunman 
Adam Lanza frequently 
posted anonymously on 
internet message boards 
and gaming chat rooms. 
The messages exhibit what 



Saitdy Hook Hoax- Blatant Lies and Sland* Q 




323 




James F. Tracy 



Courant reporters describe as “atechnical prowess about weapons and 
computers, a ‘fetish’ for a certain bullet and a near-fixation with correcting 
Wikipedia articles about mass killers.” 

The suspected poster further questioned “Connecticut’s assault-gun 
ban, offers a blueprint for his laptop computer and provides YouTube links 
to a commercial for a laughing doll from the 1970s and for The Rock-afire 
Explosion, an animatronics band that played in ShowBiz Pizza locations in 
the 1980s.” The Courant further reports that the posts in question “reveal an 
intense and well-developed interest in high-capacity weaponry and an almost 
obsessive attention to details both in the user’s own writing and his editing of 
articles about mass murder.” Alaine Griffin and Josh Kovner, “Mass Murders 
Captivated Online User Believed to be Adam Lanza,” Hartford Courant, 
June 30, 2013. 

July 7 
n.t. 



An unnamed source close to the State Police investigation of the Sandy 
Hook School massacre says video and audio from cruiser cameras of 
Newtown police who responded to the Dec. 14 incident show officers failed 
to enter the building as about 10 shots were fired by gunman Adam Lanza. 
“There is no doubt there was some delay,” the source says. “The question is 
whether it was significant or justified.” Some Newtown officers have been 
repeatedly interviewed by investigators seeking to establish a firm timeline 
for the events. The source claims such interviews have touched a nerve 
among Newtown officers dealing with what witnessed at the school. John 
Pirro, “Newtown Police Response to Shooting Under Review,” Stamford 
Advocate, July 7, 2013. 

July 19 
10:37PM 

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an organization founded by New York 
City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, cosponsors a public vigil featuring mass 
shooting survivors and relatives of victims from Aurora Colorado and 
Newtown Connecticut who gather with dozens of supporters in suburban 
Denver almost a year after the Aurora attack. 

Vigil participants advocate for strict federal gun control laws. “Why wait 
any longer?” asks Carlee Soto, sister of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School 
teacher Victoria Soto. “The time for change is now.”Dan Elliott, “Aurora, 
Newtown Survivors Honor Theater Victims,” Huffington Post, July 19, 2013. 



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July 24 
7:14AM 

Newtown Chief of Police addresses government officials and law 
enforcement agencies personnel on the Sandy Hook Elementary School 
massacre and its aftermath at the Police Executives Conference. Before 
the presentation Kehoe tells a reporter, “The shooting itself lasted an hour 
and half to two hours. The officers did very well during the event- but the 
aftermath is what we weren’t prepared for.” 

The police chief adds that a community such as Newtown has to be 
“cohesive before a crisis event happens” so that such an event can be navigated 
through. Lindsay Curtin, “Newtown Police Chief in Wilmington to Talk 
Crisis Management,” WECT 6, July 24, 2013. 

July 27 
8:49PM 

The Hartford Courant reports on the contrast between the limited 
number of details released by law enforcement on the investigation into the 
Sandy Hook School massacre versus the extent of speaking engagements by 
Connecticut State Police and Newtown police officers across the country, 
that can involve sharing graphic details of what they saw inside the school. 

In March, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other political leaders 
critiqued state police for releasing details of the investigation at out-of-state 
conferences. A police report has been delayed for months, and state law 
enforcement officials have attempted to push through legislation intended to 
keep secret some details of the shooting. Dave Altimari, “While Connecticut 
Waits, Police Talk Newtown Shooting Across US "Hartford Courant, July 
27,2013. 

July 29 

Newtown resident Lori Hoagland returns to JFK Airport from a 17-day 
trip to Turkey expecting to be greeted in the terminal by her husband, Robert, 
only to later find that he has disappeared without a trace. 

Robert Hoagland worked for a Bridgeport law firm involved in real 
estate-related law. “He was a man doing ordinary life things on a Sunday, 
preparing for his wife to come home,” Lori Hoagland says, noting she spoke 
to him two days before her return. “And he disappeared. . . . It’s a total, total 
mystery.” Nanci G. Hutson, “Missing Man Remains a Mystery,” Connecticut 
Post, August 21, 2013. 



325 




James F. Tracy 



August 1 
n.t. 



The New York Times editorializes on the slow pace of the investigation 
of the Sandy Hook School massacre. “Connecticut officials continue to 
keep the public in the dark about the state’s official investigation into the 
shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December,” the 
Times editorial staff remarks, “even as state and local police have been 
discussing it at forums across the nation, sometimes in graphic detail. 
Though the fullest possible report was promised after the tragedy, its release 
has been repeatedly postponed, with authorities advising patience while the 
public grows increasingly puzzled.” “The Slow Motion Inquiry Into Sandy 
Hook,” New York Times, August 1, 2013. 

August 4 
n.t. 



Peter Lanza, the father of Newtown shooter Adam Lanza’s, puts his 
Stamford Connecticut house up for sale with an asking price of $7 1 0,000. The 
home is described by realtor Halstead Property as a 2,375-square-foot “ranch 
cape” on 1.04 acres, with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and a 
pool in the backyard. It’s located on Bartina Lane in the Westover section 
of town, one of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods. Maggie Gordon, 
“Lanza’s Father Moving Out of Stamford Home,” Stamford Advocate, 
August 6, 2013. 

August 13 
n.t. 



Over 150 take part in an “Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill” at Cal 
State Long Beach (CSULB). “The blood was just make-up, the screams for 
help only feigned, and the gunman at the center of it all nonexistent,” the 
online Signal Tribune newspaper reports, “but the more than 150 participants 
involved in the [event] were taking their assigned duties very seriously.” 

The exercise can be described as “a multi-agency mock response with 
participants including the CSULB University Police Department, the Long 
Beach Police Department, Long Beach Fire Department, St. Mary Medical 
Center, Lifeline EMS, Pacific College and numerous CSULB departments 
collaborating to apprehend a non-existent shooter and treat “victims” played 
by actors. 

The emphasis of the drill centered on the CSULB Student Health Center 
and its staff’s ability to perform triage in the field, in addition to university 



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personnel’s capacity to communicate with outside agencies, the media and 
the public. Cory Bilicko, “In Wake of School Shootings at Santa Monica and 
Sandy Hook, CSULB Conducts Multi-Agency “Mass Casualty Drill,” Signal 
Tribune, August 16, 2013. 

August 14 
5:16PM 

Newtown First Selectwoman Pat Llodra writes a letter to the Newtown- 
Sandy Hook Community Foundation’s handling $11.5 million collected after 
the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook School shooting, suggesting that it to give more 
money to the shooting victims, especially the families of the 12 children 
who survived. 

“Let me state unequivocally that the amount of money provided to the 
families of the survivors by the distribution committee is inadequate,” Llodra 
writes. “Twenty thousand dollars will be insufficient to address the wide range 
of mental health needs for these youngsters and their siblings and parents for 
years into the future.” Llodra’s letter is one of many questioning the decision 
to distribute $7.7 million of the $11.5 million under the organization’s 
control. Dave Altimari, “Newtown Leader Wants More Money Earmarked 
For Shooting Victims,” Hartford Courant, August 14, 2013. 

n,t. 



State police assigned to investigate the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary 
School massacre abruptly cancel speaking engagements in California and 
Texas scheduled for this week and are ordered to focus on finishing the 
much-anticipated report on the shooting that left 20 first-graders and six 
women dead. Two weeks ago, the Hartford Courant reported that state 
police and Newtown police were traveling throughout the US to discuss the 
shooting response at conferences yet releasing little information publicly in 
Connecticut. 

At that time, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Danbury State’s Attorney 
Stephen Sedensky defended the travel, saying that police were not discussing 
details of the investigation and traveling was not slowing down the probe. 

Since that story appeared, Malloy’s chief of staff met with state police 
officials and told them “to be more deliberative” in choosing whether to 
attend any of the conferences to discuss the Sandy Hook investigation. 
After that meeting, state police officials have stepped up the investigation. 
Dave Altimari, “Connecticut State Police Cautioned About Discussing 
Newtown,” Hartford Courant, August 14, 2013. 



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August 15 
5:19PM 

Robbie Parker, the 31 -year-old father of Emilie Parker who was slain 
at Sandy Hook Elementary School, donates books to the Hillsboro Public 
Library after addressing his alma mater, Pacific University in Oregon a week 
earlier. “When a married couple brings their first child into the world, it’s an 
amazing change,” Parker says. 

“She was that person for us. She made us the best possible version of 
ourselves as individuals and as a couple.” Parker notes that Emlie liked to 
draw and read. “I can’t tell you how many times she got in trouble,” Parker 
says laughing, on the nights he’d see her light was still on as she read past 
her bedtime. Andrew Theen, “Father of Sandy Hook Victims Makes Special 
Emotional Donation to the Hillsboro Public Library,” The Oregonian! AM 
1360 KUIK, August 15,2013. 

August 16 
n,t. 



The Sandy Hook Commission established by Gov. Daniel Malloy to make 
recommendations on gun violence, mental health, and school safety, hears from 
someoflsraershomelandsecurityofficialsontheschoolsafetymodelusedinlsrael. 
During a meeting the task force held a Skype conference with officials from 
a group called The Israel Experience in Homeland Security, suggesting how 
the Israelis have a very different approach to school security and homeland 
security in general. Hugh McQuaid, “Sandy Hook Commission Hears From 
Israeli Security Experts , "New Haven Register, August 16, 2013. 

n.t. 



Eight detectives for the Connecticut State Police have received $139,000 
in overtime pay to investigate the Sandy Hook School massacre since January 
1, 2013. Almost half has gone to two investigators operating out of Southbury 
barracks, who claim to have put in over 500 hours of work above and beyond 
the call of duty in 2013. “There has been absolutely no authorization for 
overtime for attending any conferences,” State Police Lieutenant J. Paul Vance 
says. “They only get paid overtime when they are called out to investigate any 
criminal cases and/or they work past their normal work day. They respond 
to call outs and must be available 24/7.” 

Dave Altimari, “Overtime for Sandy Hook Investigators Nears $140,000 
Since Jan. 1,” Hartford Courant, August 16, 2013. 



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August 21 
n.t. 



James H. Smith, a task force member and the president of the Connecticut 
Council on Freedom of Information questions the makeup of a task force 
charged with recommending to state lawmakers how to balance victim privacy 
with the public’s right to know. Smith is concerned the overall membership of 
the 17-person group appears slanted in favor of keeping certain information 
from public release. “Sandy Hook Task Force Member Questions Secrecy,” 
Associated VvQsslCTPost.com, August 21. 2013. 

August 25 
9:00 AM 

A task force meets that formed after Orange (Florida) County 
Mayor Teresa Jacobs approached community leaders to establish a body 
focusing on the mental-health needs of children and young adults to avoid 
tragedies such as Sandy Hook. “When the Sandy Hook shootings happened, I 
wanted to respond immediately by getting deputies into the schools,” Jacobs 
says. “But that’s treating the symptoms and not the cause. Hopefully, we’re 
coming of age as a society so that we recognize mental illness is not some 
kind of character weakness, but a legitimate physical illness that has to be 
addressed and treated.” Kate Santich, “Children’s Mental Health Commission 
Debuts Today,” Orlando Sentinel, August 25, 2013. 

August 29 

Attorney General Eric Holder announces the U.S. Justice Department’s 
Bureau of Justice Assistance will provide $2.5 million in funds to the 
Connecticut State Police, the Newtown Police Department and other agencies 
that assisted following the December 14 shooting that killed 20 children and 
six educators. The funding provides agencies and jurisdictions for costs of 
overtime, forensics and security during and in the aftermath of the crime, 
the Justice Department says. 

“Providing support to the law enforcement agencies that responded to 
the horrific scene that awaited them at Sandy Hook Elementary School is 
one small action we can take to bring healing to a community that’s been 
devastated,” Holder states in the news release. “Just over eight months after 
this senseless tragedy, those who lost their lives, and those who continue 
to grieve, remain in our thoughts and prayers.” DOJ press release (PDF). 
Cassandra Day, “Newtown Police to Share in $300K for Sandy Hook Shooting 
Compensation,” Middletown Patch, August 31, 2013. 



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September 4 

An attorney with Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission 
recommends release of 91 1 recordings from Sandy Hook Elementary School 
shooting, coming down on the side of The Associated Press in AP’s dispute 
over records withheld by investigators. 

The full, nine-member commission will hold a Sept. 25 hearing before 
issuing a final decision on whether the recordings should be provided to 
the AP. A spokesman for the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, says its 
attorneys will argue against the release. “Conn. FOI Officer Urges Relase 
of 91 1 Recordings from Sandy Hook School Shooting,” Washington Post t 
Associated Press, September 4, 2013. 

September 7 

Teachers at school districts in southern Orange County California are 
instructed that if they can’t hide or get away from a campus gunman, they 
should aggressively use chairs, tables, fire extinguishers and even books as 
weapons to disable a shooter. The revamped policy comes in response to the 
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. “Schools in Orange County Teach 
Ways to Combat Gunman,” KSBY News 6 / Associated Press, September 
7, 2013. 

September 11 

Newtown Police Lieutenant George Sinko, a 24-year veteran, receives 
a written reprimand from the chief. Sinko ’s colleagues are upset because 
they say the lieutenant proceeded to direct traffic at a construction site 
instead of immediately rushing to the Sandy Hook School massacre event 
with other officers on the morning of December 14. Some Newtown 
police officers are displeased with what they see as lenient treatment of 
the lieutenant and are discussing a vote of no confidence in Chief Michael 
Kehoe. John Pirro, “Newtown Lieutenant Reprimanded for Slow Sandy Hook 
Response,” Connecticut Post, September 11, 2013. 

September 13 

Ground is broken on a playground in Fairfield CT to honor Jessica Rekos, 
one of the young children slain in the Sandy Hook tragedy. The playground 
is being developed by firefighters and community members who wish to 
volunteer. “Building a Playground for Newtown Victim,” WTNH News 8, 
September 13, 2013. 



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September 14 

Gun rights activists in assert they will vigorously pursue state lawmakers 
advocating strong gun control measures. Connecticut does not have a 
provision to recall elected officials, unlike Colorado, where two prominent 
gun control proponents were just booted from the legislature. “Our recall 
capabilities are at the ballot box next year,” says Scott Wilson, president of 
the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. “We hope to get some of them 
out of office. . . . The key thing is going to be education [of] the gun-owning 
community.” Connecticut’s 200,000 gun-permit holders can be a powerful 
political force, according to former Connecticut Republican party Chairman 
Chris Healy. Daniela Altimari, “Colorado Recall Energizes Connecticut Gun 
Control Foes ” Hartford Courant, September 14, 2013. 

September 24 

The State of Connecticut refuses a FOIA request to release Sandy Flook 
gunman Adam Lanza’s medical records because of fears that divulging 
the specific types of antidepressants he was taking would, “cause a lot of 
people to stop taking their medications,” Assistant Attorney General Patrick 
B. Kwanashie says. The parents organization AbleChild.org is seeking to 
secure the release of the information after Connecticut Medical Examiner 
H. Wayne Carver, M.D. denied the request. “What plagues this investigation 
is that some are simply fixated on having it remain secret in spite of the 
urgency of transparency that is clearly needed to protect the public,” said 
Patricia Weathers, co-founder of AbleChild. Paul Joseph Watson, “State of 
Connecticut Refuses to Release Adam Lanza’s Medical Records "Infowars. 
com, September 24, 2013. 

Governor Dannel P. Malloy announces September 24 that the State 
of Connecticut is pledging support to Newtown to build a replacement of 
Sandy Hook Elementary School and is poised to approve the first round of 
funding toward its construction at the September 27 meeting of the State Bond 
Commission. “The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School is never far 
from our minds. Over the last several months, we’ve done our best to move 
forward in a way that honors the memory of those we lost and meets the 
needs of residents and the surrounding community,” Gov Malloy remarks. 

“Healing from an enormous tragedy like this is never easy. There are 
no simple answers, and the challenges are many. With strong resolve and a 
determination to move forward, we can do our best to support the people of 
Newtown.” John Voket, “Saturday Referendum Calls Voters to Appropriate 
$50 Million for Sandy Hook School,” Newtown Bee, October 4, 2013. 



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James F. Tracy 



First Selectman Pat Llodra and Interim School Superintendent John 
Reed partake in a video interview September 24 organized by the Newtown 
Bee to help residents understand the implications of an forthcoming October 
5 referendum. “As far as the $50 million [is concerned], it comes without 
strings, it does not have to be repaid, it has no impact on the tax rate,” Dr 
Reed says. “It is an attempt on the part of the state to make Newtown whole. 
That means we had seven schools when we started the school year last 
year, and I think it’s the state’s judgment that we have seven schools now.” 
Dr Reed says the offer as a “win-win situation for Newtown.” John Voket, 
“Saturday Referendum Calls Voters to Appropriate $50 Million for Sandy 
Hook School,” Newtown Bee, October 4, 2013. 

September 27 

At a meeting of the State Bond Commission, the body approves a $50 
million appropriation to the Town of Newtown to demolish and rebuild 
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut. Newtown voters 
are to vote on the proposal October 5. John Voket, “Saturday Referendum 
Calls Voters to Appropriate $50 Million for Sandy Hook School,” Newtown 
Bee, October 4, 2013. 

September 29 

Many of children that survived the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary 
suffer from witnessing the horrors of that day. “Nightmares are persistent,” 
the Associated Press reports, “and any reminder of the attack — a fire alarm, 
a clap of thunder, even the sound of an intercom — can stir feelings of panic. 
At the building in a neighboring town where the survivors recently began a 
new school year, signs ask people to close doors softly and not to drag objects 
across the floor. “The worst part is the helplessness,” says Hugo Rojas, whose 
son witnessed the shooting. “You want to take that pain away. You want to 
be able to take those nightmares away, but you can’t.” John Christo ffersen, 
“Fear Permeates Young Lives of Newtown Witnesses,” Associated Press / 
ABC News, September 29, 2013. 

October 4 

The North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Health 
holds its 29th annual conference where Nelba Marquez Greene, a mother of 
one of the slain Sandy Hook students, gives an address to recommend what 
can be done to prevent such tragedies from happening again. “NC’s Mental 
Health Advocates Focus on Lessons from Sandy Hook,” The Progressive 
Pulse, October 4, 2013. 



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October 5 
6:00 AM 

Referendum polls open for all registered and qualified voters open at 
Newtown Middle School to appropriate $50 million in state funding to rebuild 
Sandy Hook School. Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia-Halstead says mailed in 
absentee ballots for the referendum will be counted if received by Saturday, 
October 5. John Voket, “Saturday Referendum Calls Voters to Appropriate 
$50 Million for Sandy Hook School,” Newtown Bee , October 4, 2013. 

October 7 

Crews from the Bestech construction contractor begin work at the Sandy 
Hook Elementary School site, just two days after residents voted to accept 
a state grant of almost $50 million to demolish the 57-year-old structure 
and rebuild a new school. The Bestech construction company has not been 
formally approved by Newtown officials or the State of Connecticut for such 
duties. John Voket, “State Action Gets Sandy Hook School Project Off to a 
Fast Start,” Newtown Bee, October 14, 2013. 

October 11 

Newtown receives notice from the State of Connecticut that the town 
can use remediation vendor Bestech for both remediation and demolition 
under a “professional services” designation. This means town officials will 
not have to go out to bid for a separate demolition contractor. According to 
First Selectman Pat Llodra, the town will now be able to obtain a two-to- 
three-week jump on work at the site. She says this wholly ensures that both 
the structure and post demolition debris will be removed by December 1 4, the 
first anniversary of the shooting. Mrs Llodra remarks the use of Bestech will 
minimize the number of workers on the site. Further, a single vendor allows 
for easier security credentialing, and with fewer workers all under the same 
vendor, controls to assure no debris or images from the demolition process 
leave the site will be able to be enforced more effectively. John Voket, “State 
Action Gets Sandy Hook School Project Off to a Fast Start,” Newtown Bee, 
October 14, 2013. 

October 12 

Nouel Alba, a New York City woman who posed as the aunt of a child 
killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, faces sentencing on October 1 5 in federal 
court in Hartford. She pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud and making false 
statements. Alba is seeking probation, stating that she’s already been punished 
by the media. Prosecutors are pursuing at least a year in prison sentence. 



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James F. Tracy 



Authorities claim she made up details about the aftermath of the shooting to 
solicit donations for a “funeral fund” on behalf of the child’s family and the 
families of other victims of the shooting. “Sandy Hook Shooting Fraudster 
Seeks Probation,” Associated Press / Boston Globe, October 12, 2013. 

October 14 

Newtown officials are requiring contractors who will carry out demolition 
of the Sandy Hook Elementary School to sign detailed confidentiality 
agreements that prevent them from publicly discussing the site, taking 
photographs or otherwise revealing information about the school. “It’s 
a very sensitive topic,” Selectman Will Rodgers says. “We want it (the 
site) to be handled in a respectful way.”Demolition of the existing Sandy 
Hook Elementary School is slated to begin the week of October 21, and be 
finished before the Dec. 14 anniversary of the incident. Nanci G. Hutson, 
“Non-Disclosure Required for Sandy Hook School Crew ”Newstimes.com, 
October 14, 2013. 

October 18 

Officials and family members of persons killed during the Sandy Hook 
School massacre question the slow drip of information versus a full police 
investigation report as sources now claim that six-year-old Jesse Lewis in 
fact acted heroically on December 14. 

When Jesse, a student in Victoria Soto’s classroom, noticed that Adam 
Lanza ran out of ammunition, he yelled for his terrified classmates to escape. 
“Jesse did yell 'Run!” and four did run, and two others ran into the bathroom,” 
according to Neil Heslin, explaining what investigators who accompanied 
him on a tour through the murder scene described to him. “1 knew that Soto 
was the first one shot, and then a little girl, and Jesse was the last one shot. 
He was clearly looking at Adam Lanza directly in the face. He was only shot 
once, the only one of the victims who wasn’t shot multiple times. His wound, 
as I’ve stated before in testimony, was in the forehead above the nose, right at 
the hairline,” Heslin asserts. Ken Dixon, Nanci Hutson, and Eileen FitzGerald, 
“New Details in Sandy Hook Shooting,” Newstimes.com, October 18, 2013. 

October 25 

Demolition of the Sandy Hook Elementary school is scheduled begins 
today. As asbestos is removed, each wing of the nearly 60 year old building 
will come down. Bestech, a company specializing in removing asbestos, 
will continue in its demolition of the school through the weekend. The entire 
process is expected to take five to six weeks. Fulltime security at the gated 



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entrance insures that no curiosity seekers or media can get to the site. Mark 
Davis, “Sandy Hook Demolition to Begin Friday,” WTNH News 8, October 
21,2013. 

October 25 




NewsCopter 7 over Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut as 
the school was demolished following last year’s deadly shooting in which 26 students 
and teachers were murdered. (WABC Photo/ NewsCopter 7) 

More photos at WABC News 7 

Workers begin demolishing the Sandy Hook Elementary School building. 
Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra says the small-scale demolition is 
underway and the project will take several weeks. “The process of demolition 
is incremental, staged precisely and executed carefully,” she notes. “There 
is no wrecking ball action; it is rather a piece-by-piece, section-by-section 
removal.” “Demolition Begins on Sandy Hook Elementary School Building,” 
Associated Press / WABC News 7, October 25, 2013. 

October 29 

The State of Connecticut releases the full toxicology report on Sandy 
Hook school shooter Adam Lanza, confirming that no drugs or alcohol were in 
his system on December 14, 2012. The report notes that Lanza tested negative 
for marijuana and had part of his brain taken for genetic testing. “There is 
no chemical reason or apparent medical reason to explain [Lanza’s] actions,” 
former chief state’s medical examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver II says. Carver 
previously sent a piece of Lanza’s brain to geneticists at the University of 
Connecticut Health Center to study for genetic markers. Carver said he hasn’t 
received a final report, but he doesn’t anticipate having to alter Adam Lanza’s 



335 





James F. Tracy 



death certificate. “If 1 thought there was something through the DNA testing 
that could have been listed as a contributing factor, I would have added it 
to his death certificate,” Carver remarks. Adam Lanza’s death was ruled a 
suicide. Dave Altimari, “Full Report Confirms No Drags, Alcohol in Lanza’s 
System,” Hartford Courant, October 29, 2013. 

November 6 

Representatives of Svigals + Partners, Consigli Construction, and 
Diversified Project Management report to Newtown Board of Education on 
progress at the new Sandy Hook School. “So far it is going very well,” says 
Aaron Krueger, project manager for Consigli Construction, says the project 
is proceeding according to schedule. 

Julie McFadden, project manager for Svigals + Partners for its architect 
and engineering team, gives an update on everything that has been happening 
with the project since September. “Our first order of business was to assemble 
the abatement documentation and the demolition documentation and get 
that up to the office of school facilities up at the state for their review and 
approval so that work could get under way,” Ms McFadden remarks. Eliza 
Hallaback, “Project on Schedule-School Board Gets SHS Update,” Newtown 
Bee, November 7, 2013. 

November 8 

Aerial photographs indicate that workers have demolished the wing of 
Sandy Hook Elementary School where Adam Lanza allegedly killed 20 first 
graders and six staffers with an assault rifle, new aerial photographs show. The 
concrete foundation is all that remains, and that will soon be destroyed. The 
demolition proceeds behind high fences with security guards posted to keep 
onlookers away. Corky Seimaszko, “Newtown Massacre Scene Demolished 
as Prosecutor Tries to Block Release of 911 Calls,” New York Daily News, 
November 8, 2013. 

State Attorney Stephen Sedensky pleas to a judge to block the release of 
the desperate 911 calls from Sandy Hook Elementary made on the morning 
of December 14, 2012. The state’s Freedom of Information Commission 
ruled in September that the tapes should be released following a request by 
the Associated Press. Sedensky argues that a stay of the FOI decision would 
protect both the families of the victims and the surviving witnesses from 
unwanted press attention. Corky Seimaszko, “Newtown Massacre Scene 
Demolished as Prosecutor Tries to Block Release of 911 Calls,” New York 
Daily News, November 8, 2013. 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



November 11 

A Newtown, Conn., police officer Thomas Bean and Sandy Hook 
Elementary massacre first responder says he is unable to return to work 
because of post-traumatic stress disorder and is in danger ofbeing fired. Bean 
says he has been suffering PTSD since the Dec. 14 shooting. Bean appears 
on the NBC TODAY show November 11 with the Newtown Police Union 
President Scott Ruszczyk and union attorney Eric Brown of Waterbury, 
Conn. “I can’t describe the overwhelming senses of emotions that 1 had,” 
Bean claims, describing the massacre’s aftermath. “That night 1 drank a lot. 
The next day I wanted to cut myself. 1 just felt so numb.” Laurie Petersen, 
“Newtown Officer With Sandy Hook- Related PTSD Claim Faces Dismissal,” 
AOL Jobs, November 11,2013. 

November 16 

Danbury State ’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky says a summary of the long 
anticipated state police report on the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School 
shooting is scheduled for release on Nov. 25. Sources say the original report 
will be thousands of pages and the date for that document’s release is yet 
to be determined. 

Sedensky and state police detectives met with some of the victims’ 
families on November 14. Another group had a conference call with him on 
November 15 so he could go over the report. Sources say that report probably 
will be heavily redacted. David Altimari, “Summary of Sandy Hook Report 
to Be Released November 25, Families Told,” Hartford Courant, November 
16,2013. 

November 25 

A 48-page report is released on Monday by Connecticut state attorney, 
Stephen J. Sedensky III that provides a graphic profile of Adam Lanza but no 
reason for his crime. “The long-awaited report does not suggest a motive for 
Mr. Lanza’s actions,” the New York Times reports, “even as it offers a glimpse 
into his strange, troubled life. It comes nearly a year after the shooting set 
off a national discussion about gun control, mental health and violence in 
American popular culture.” 

Although Lanza was treated by mental health professionals, according 
to the report, none recognized anything suggestive of his future 
behavior.“Tutoring, desensitization and medication were recommended,” the 
report says. Joseph Berger and Mark Santora, “Chilling Look at Newtown 
Killer, But No ‘Why,’” New York Times, November 25, 2013. 



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James F. Tracy 



November 26 

New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott denies a motion by 
State Attorney Stephen Sedensky III for a stay of release on the 911 tapes 
of the Sandy Hook massacre. Yet the tapes are to remain sealed until Dec. 4 
to give the Sedensky a chance to appeal. The AP has sought the recordings 
in part to examine the police response to the shooting. “Newtown 911 Calls 
Ordered to be Released by Judge,” Associated Press / WABC New York, 
November 26, 2013. 

December 1 

Politico reports that at least 37 states have increased spending on 
mental health since the Sandy Hook Massacre. In addition, such states are 
experimenting with controversial new ways of raising awareness on mental 
health issues. These include training public school personnel and students 
to spot and report on those allegedly exhibiting mental health symptoms. 
Stephanie Simon, “Sandy Hook Spurs States’ Mental Health Push,” Politico, 
com, December 1, 2013. 

December 3 

Gov. Dannel Malloy’s office announces that state employees serving as 
first responders to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are to receive 
40 hours of compensatory time as the result of an agreement struck between 
the state and six state labor unions. David Dunavin, “12/14 Responders 
Will Receive Compensatory Time From State,” Newtown Patch, December 
4, 2013. 

December 4 

Recordings of 911 calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary School 
shooting are released. They indicate anguish and tension inside the building, 
also suggesting how town dispatchers responded to the calls. The recordings 
are released under a court order after a lengthy effort by The Associated Press 
to have them released for review. Prosecutors had argued that making the 
recordings public would only cause more anguish for the victims’ families. 
“Newtown 911 Calls Released,” Associated Press / Newsday, December 4, 
2013. 

December 10 

State records indicate that Sandy Hook School massacre-related charities 
raise close to $28 million since the Dec. 14, 2012 and possess over $11 million 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



that is yet to be distributed. Sixty-three charities responded to the latest survey 
from the state attorney general’s office seeking updates on money raised since 
the shooting. The surveys are voluntary and 14 groups had not responded. 
Dave Altimari, “$28 Million Raised by Sandy Hook Charities,” Hartford 
Courant, December 10, 2013. 

December 14 

President Obama leads a national day of remembrance for the victims 
of the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings while renewing calls for 
tighter gun control and heightened mental-health care measures. “We have 
to do more to keep dangerous people from getting their hands on a gun so 
easily. We have to do more to heal troubled minds,” the president remarks 
during his weekly radio address." 

Obama Remembers Sandy Hook Victims, C alls For Tougher Gun Laws,” 
Associated Press / FoxNews.com, December 14, 2013. 

December 22 

A1 Jazeera America editorializes on the failure of pro-gun control 
legislators in the US to succeed in the passage of sweeping laws. “Little has 
been done to close loopholes that might have prevented that gun purchase or 
lay down rules for the possible next frontier of weapons,” A1 Jazeera opines. 
“While Congress has renewed the ban on plastic guns — the only gun-control 
legislation it moved this year — it fell short of requiring that guns have 
unremovable pieces of metal to make them more easily detectable.” “The 
Year in Guns: In Wake of Tragedy, More Government Inaction,” A1 Jazeera 
America, December 22, 2013. 

December 23 

The New York Times publishes an editorial that scolds the US Congress 
for failing to pass substantive gun control legislation in the wake of the 
Sandy Hook School massacre. “Despite lawmakers’ copious sympathy for 
the 26 victims of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre,” the Times'' editorial 
board writes, “all members of Congress were able to manage in the way of 
gun safety as they left town was renewal of the ban on the manufacture of 
plastic firearms. This is a type of arcane weapon that figured not at all in the 
Sandy Hook Elementary School rampage in 20 1 2, nor in the mass shootings 
featuring adapted weapons of war that have occurred on average every two 
weeks somewhere in America.” “Congress’s Temerity on Gun Safety,” New 
York Times, December 23, 2013. 



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James F. Tracy 



December 27 
3:22PM 

The Connecticut State Police release their final report on the December 
14,2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre. The report is “only made 
available at this website: http://www.ct.gov/statepolicenewtownreport. “The 
report runs several thousand pages and is heavily redacted “according to 
law.” The report also contains some text, photos and 911 calls received by the 
State Police on the day of the shootings. The State Police further announce 
that release “of this document is indicative that this State Police criminal 
investigation is concluded.” “Sandy Hook School Shooting Investigation 
Completed; Report to Be Released,” State of Connecticut Department of 
Emergency Services and Public Protection, December 26, 2013. 

The Obama administration’s Justice and Health and Human Services 
departments propose allowing the federal gun background check database 
access to some mental health records by giving it an exemption from existing 
privacy law and “clarify” that people involuntarily committed to both inpatient 
and outpatient institutions could be prohibited from purchasing guns. The 
proposed rules are the most recent executive actions following the December 
2012 Sandy Hook School massacre. Reid J. Epstein, “White House: New 
Gun Rules for Mentally 111 ” Politico.com, January 3, 2014. 

2014 

January 6 

The U.S. Department of Education announces an award of $1.9 million 
to Newtown Public School District “to help with ongoing recovery efforts 
following the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 
2012.” This is the second of two grants totaling $3.2 million, the first being 
made in May 2013. The grant is through the Department’s Project School 
Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) program. According to the DOE, 
Project SERVE “awards Immediate Services and Extended Services grants to 
school districts, colleges and universities that have experienced a significant 
traumatic event and need resources to respond, recover, and re-establish 
safe environments for students.” “US Department of Education Awards 
$1.9 Million Grants to Newtown, Connecticut, to Further Support Recovery 
Efforts,” US Department of Education, January 6. 2014. 

January 7 

Brookfield Board of Education member Gregory Beck steps down 
following a public outcry after a Facebook post Beck made in November. In 
the remark Beck said his “26 Acts of Kindness” for the Sandy Hook victims 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



would be to deliver boxes of ammunition to his gun-enthusiast friends. 
Many people considered the post to be inappropriate and offensive, since 
the “26 Acts” movement had been dedicated to the victims of the Dec. 14, 
2012, shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Nanci G. 
Hutson, “Embattled Brookfield BOE Member Resigns, ’’Newstimes.com, 
January 7, 2014. 

January 17 

Peter Lanza assures the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission that he will 
disclose at least some of Newtown shooter Adam Lanza’s mental health 
treatment records, and heard from two of the foremost autism experts that the 
disorder doesn’t lead to violent behavior. Peter Lanza “called me during the 
last presentation,” Sandy Hook panel Chairman Scott J ackson said before the 
commission broke for lunch Friday afternoon. “I’m going to sit down with 
him in short order” to work out the parameters of a records release. Kathleen 
Megan, “Adam Lanza’s Father Willing to Release Medical Records to Sandy 
Hook Commission,” Hartford Courant, January 18, 2014. 

January 21 

Mark Barden and Nicole Hockley two family members of children lost 
during the Sandy Hook school shooting and representatives of Sandy Hook 
Promise appear in Concord New Hampshire to testily before a committee 
promoting criminal background checks in New Hampshire. HB 1 559 requires 
every gun sale go through a licensed dealer and then, a background check 
process through the National Crime Information Center, closing a loophole 
that proponents say put illegal guns onto the streets. Tony Schinella, “Parents 
of Sandy Hook Victims Promote Background Checks Bill,” Salem NH Patch, 
January 21, 2014. 

January 25 

An email by former law enforcement officer and school safety expert 
Wolfgang Halbig addressed to Connecticut State Police Lieutenant J. 
Paul Vance and Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe is published 
on memoiyholeblog.com. The post initiates an important series of appearances 
throughout major alternative media outlets where Halbig explains his 
misgivings on the official version of the Sandy Hook School massacre. 
Wolfgang Halbig, “Retired Cop and Educator Threatened for Questioning 
Sandy Hook Investigation,” memoryholeblog.com, January 25, 2014. 

The Berkeley Unified School District in Northern California is spending 
$2 million on an elaborate school safety plan. The school district hired two 



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security consultants, Edu-Safe Associates and Dimensions Unlimited, at the 
cost of $70,000 to audit the district’s 20 schools. The school board voted two to 
one to spend money on armed-intruder training, increased video surveillance, 
campus address systems and the installation of new door locks engineered 
to prevent people from being locked inside classrooms. “I substitute in the 
school district as well, so I’m happy to see that they’re phasing in new locks 
on the classroom doors,” said Tracy Hollander, president of the Berkeley 
Parent Teacher Association. Jane Nho, “Berkeley Unified School Spends $2 
Million on Safety Plan,” Daily Californian, January 25, 2014. 

January 29 

The Town of New Canaan waives reimbursement of $7,623 in costs 
in responding to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The funds 
are designated from the $2.5 million Obama Department of Justice payoff 
to Connecticut and Newtown-area law enforcement agencies that took part 
in the event response and are intended for training personnel in emergency 
response to violent offenders. Police Chief Leon Krolikowski says New 
Canaan sent officers to Newtown every day from Dec. 14 through Dec. 
25. The nearby Town of Darien was eligible for about $17,000 and chose to 
be reimbursed. Nelson Oliveira, “Town Waives Reimbursement for Sandy 
Hook Response,” New Canaan News, February 6, 2014. 

February 1 

Connecticut Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner 
Reuben Bradford steps down from his post and is replaced by Dora B. Schriro, 
commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction since 2009. 
Ms. Schriro is a long time acquaintance of Janet Napolitano when both served 
in Arizona. “After learning of an anomaly with my retirement and much 
soul searching,” Bradford wrote in a resignation to Gov. Dannell Malloy in 
December 2013, “I reluctantly tender my resignation effective February 1, 
2014. When I accepted your gracious offer to serve as Commissioner almost 
three years ago, I did so knowing there was a shelf life to the position.” 
Hugh McQuaid, “Bradford Retires Citing ‘Anomaly,’” CT News Junkie, 
December 26, 2013. 

February 6 

Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee announces a new safety and security 
plan for the state’s schools, a 320-page document assembled by educators, 
emergency management officials and law enforcement. The redesign was 
prompted by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, 
Connecticut. The guide is intended to serve as a tool for local schools 



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when creating their own security plans. “RI Releases New Security Plan,” 
Associated Press / San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 2014. 

February 11 

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announces that she is writing a book 
about gun control based on an essay she wrote that appeared in The New 
York Times in April 2013. The article was her response to the fatal shootings 
of 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012. In 
the piece Giffords chided senators who blocked gun legislation that included 
expanded background checks and a ban on assault weapons. “As Second 
Amendment supporters and gun owners ourselves,” Giffords husband Mark 
Kelly told the Associated Press, “we hope our book rouses the long-overdue 
conversation our country needs to make responsible changes to our gun laws 
so that no more precious lives are lost.” “Gabrielle Giffords Plans Book on 
Gun Control,” Associated Press / Boston Herald , February 11, 2014. 

Florida State Rep. Lori Berman proposes a bill that will provide for mental 
health first aid training for school teachers and staff from Florida Department 
of Children and Families. Berman hopes the legislation will make spotting 
problem signs routine. “The genesis of this bill was actually the Sandy Flook 
massacre,” said Rep. Lori Berman. “1 think it’s important for us to invest the 
dollars and try to address mental health and substance abuse problems when 
they’re in their incipient stages,” Berman remarks. The bill has already made 
it through committees in both chambers. The Florida Education Association 
says that they’d be open to the training. Matt Galka, “Stopping the Shooter,” 
Capitol News Service, February 11, 2014. 

February 12 

A new study conducted by Moms Demand Action, a citizens group 
formed after Newtown, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, cites at least 44 
school and college shootings since Newtown in December 2012. The total 
death toll from the events over the 14 months since then is 28, surpassing that 
of Newtown itself. The joint report was released in Washington on Wednesday 
in an attempt to restart the debate on gun control. “We are a developed 
country, and we have to ask ourselves what is wrong with our culture and 
laws that’s creating an environment where not only do we have 44 school 
shootings in the past 14 months - but we are doing nothing about it,” says 
twenty-year public relations veteran and present Huffington Post columnist 
Shannon Watts, also the founder of Moms Demand Action. Ed Pilkington, 
“Twenty-Eight Killed in 44 US School Shootings Since Newtown, Study 
Finds,” UK Guardian, February 12, 2014. 



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James F. Tracy 



February 14 

NBC News carries a graphic report on the 13th staged mass shooter drill 
taking place at Missouri’s Lincoln County school district over the past year. 
The Missouri state legislature voted to make live shooter drills mandatory 
following the Sandy Hook massacre. “All but 69 students have gone home 
for the day on early dismissal,” NBC reports. “These volunteer victims, 
mostly culled from the school’s drama class, are outfitted in fake -bloody 
bullet wounds, still wet and dripping down their foreheads, necks and chests.” 

A campus police officer tells participants what to expect: “They’ll see ‘bad 
guys with AR- 15s’ shooting blanks during a simulated ‘passing period’ — the 
moments when one class ends and the other begins.” In addition, “PVC pipes 
will be dropped on the floor to approximate [Improvised Explosive Devices].” 
Freshman Crystal Lanham is delighted to be chosen as one of the gunmen’s 
hostages. “’I just really wanna get shot,’ she jokes. ‘Is that weird?”’ Nona 
Willis Aronowitz, “Fake Blood and Blanks: School Stage Active Shooter 
Drills,” NBC News, February 14, 2014. 

Connecticut State Police announce they will hold a ceremony the week 
of February 17 to honor more than 200 officers who responded to the Sandy 
Hook Elementary School shooting. State police officials also intend to honor 
several trauma psychologists who worked with officers following the shooting 
at the school. No members of the public will be allowed at the ceremony. 
Dave Altimari, “More Than 200 To Get State Police Awards For Sandy Hook 
Shooting Response,” Hartford Courant, February 14, 2014. 

March 4 

The Second Annual Sandy Hook Ride on Washington (SHROW) is 
announced. On March 8that 8:00 am ET, Team 26, a group of cyclists, will 
embark on a 400 mile journey from Newtown, CT to Washington DC to 
call for “sensible gun violence prevention.” The four-day “rolling rally” 
includes events in Ridgefield, Ct, Greenwich, Ct., Harlem, NY, Doylestown, 
Pa., Baltimore, Md., College Park, Md., the Washington National 
Cathedral, Washington, DC and end at the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building. 
“From Suburbs to Inner Cities,” PR Newswire / Digital Journal, March 4, 
2014. 

March 10 

The New Yorker magazine publishes a 7,600 essay by New York-based 
writer Andrew Solomon based on an alleged series of interviews with Peter 
Lanza. “Since the shootings, Peter has avoided the press,” Solomon writes, 



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Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



“but in September, as the first anniversary of his son’s rampage approached, 
he contacted me to say that he was ready to tell his story. We met six times, for 
interviews lasting as long as seven hours. Shelley, a librarian at the University 
of Connecticut, usually joined us and made soup or chili or salads for lunch. 
Sometimes we played with their German shepherd.” Andrew Solomon, “The 
Reckoning: The F ather of the Sandy Hook Killer Searches for Answers,” New 
Yorker, March 17, 2014. 

March 26 

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt applauds the House of Representatives 
for passing a demonstration project of the “Excellence in Mental Health 
Act,” bipartisan legislation introduced in 2013 following the Sandy Hook 
massacre by Blunt and Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow in the Senate. 
The amendment expands access to community mental health services and 
strengthens the quality of care provided for those living with mental illness. 
“Blunt Praises Action on Mental Health Bill,” KSPR 33 ABC, March 27, 
2014. 

April 2 

The Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation received more than 
1,600 responses to a survey of Newtown residents released on March 31. 
Most respondents called for mental health counseling and assistance services; 
a small portion suggested that the house where Adam Lanza resided be torn 
down. The foundation has been deciding how to distribute more than $11 
million in donations made in response to the shootings. “Newtown Residents 
Want Gunman’s House Torn Down,” Associated Press / WPVI, April 2,2014. 
See also, “Newtown Group Sees Long Term Mental Health Needs,” CBS 
New York, April 2, 2014. 

April 5 

CNN reports that Spc. Ivan Lopez ranted on Facebook on a variety of 
topics prior to his shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas. Remarks included 
his outrage at Adam Lanza’s mass school shooting in Connecticut. He also 
expressed tremendous fear after experiencing an insurgent attack in Iraq. 
Ray Sanchez, “Fort Hood Gunman Vented on Facebook About Sandy Hook 
Shooter, Iraq,” CNN, April 5. 2014. 

Enrollment in the Newtown Public School District dropped by almost 
250 students in 2013. At Sandy Hook elementary alone, 55 fewer students 
enrolled that year. School officials commission an enrollment study to find if 
decreased enrollment is aligned with a larger demographic shift experienced 



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James F. Tracy 



in many suburban school districts or if it is yet another lingering effect of the 
school shooting. Nanci G. Hutson, “Newtown School Enrollment Declines 
Post Sandy Wook"Newstimes.com, Apri I 5, 2014. 

April 10 

A half-dozen parents of the 20 first-graders killed in the Sandy Hook 
massacre attend the meeting of the Permanent Memorial Commission. The 
12-member group has been meeting for the past six months to come up with 
a fitting tribute to the victims and others impacted by the tragedy. “You are 
the first group we are reaching out to,” Chairman Kyle Lyddy says. “We want 
to find out what you want and what you don’t want.” John Pirro, “Memorial 
Commission Meets with Families, ’Wemstimes.com, Apri I 10, 2014. 

April 15 

Former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announces he 
will spend $50 million in 2014 building a nationwide grass-roots network 
to influence voting outcomes where gun control is an issue. The multi- 
billionaire wants to develop an organization he hopes can eventually surpass 
the National Rifle Association in political influence. Bloomberg thinks gun 
control advocates need to learn from the N.R.A. and punish politicians who 
fail to challenge the constitutionally-protected right to bear arms. Jeremy 
W. Peters, “Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the N.R.A.,” New 
York Times, April 15, 2014. 

April 22 

Certain Republican congressional candidates vying for nomination take 
issue with President Obama’s call to involve the Centers for Disease Control in 
gun control research. When gun violence peaked in the early 1990s, the CDC 
increased its funding of firearms violence research. Yet in 1996 it backed off 
under pressure from Congress and the National Rifle Association. Funding 
for “firearms injury prevention activities” decreased from more than $2.7 
million in 1995 to barely $100,000 by 2012, according to the CDC. 

After the Sandy Hook shootings, Obama issued a memorandum “directing 
the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun 
violence.” The influential Institute of Medicine lept into action, assembling 
a report on priorities for research on reducing gun violence. Among the 
questions that need answers, according to the report: Do background checks — 
the most popular and prominent gun control policy proposal — actually reduce 
gun violence? How often do Americans successfully use guns to protect 
themselves each year? And what is the relationship between violence in video 



346 




Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



games and other media and “real-life” violence? The Obama administration 
is now asking that the CDC receive $10 million for gun violence research. 
CDC’s current funding for gun violence prevention research remains at 
$0. Lois Beckett, “Republicans Say No to CDC Gun Violence Research,” 
ProPublica, April 21, 2014. 

April 24 

The FBI has releases roughly 175 pages of heavily blacked-out documents 
from its Sandy Flook Elementary School massacre investigation. Of the 
175 pages released in response to a Freedom of Information request by 
the Hartford Courant , 64 were completely redacted and most of the other 111 
pages were heavily redacted. Th eCourant submitted the request in January 
after state police released a report on the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting. The names 
of all witnesses interviewed by federal agents have been removed and there 
are no references to attempts by federal authorities to recover information 
from a computer disk that shooter Adam Lanza destroyed. Dave Altimari, 
“FBI Releases Heavily Blacked Out Sandy Hook Records,” Hartford Courant, 
April 24,2014. 

The Newtown Health District participates in a statewide drill simulating 
a mass casualty outbreak to gauge how emergency response medications can 
be distributed. District Director Donna Culbert states she has been working 
with state and regional officials for several weeks to prepare for the drill. 
“The state created a scenario for us and plan to drive pallets of (supplies) to 
our distribution center - which is the high school - and we will be there to 
receive it,” she says. “We will be among dozens of drop off sites - all the 32 
hospitals and more than 75 dispensing sites will be receiving pallets during 
the drill.” John Voket, “Newtown Participating in Emergency Medication 
Distribution Drill Thursday,” Newtown Bee, April 24, 2014. 

May 2 

The FBI’s active shooter training program for local and state law 
enforcement officials following the Sandy Hook killings has already saved 
lives, FBI Director James Comey tells reporters. Comey says the chief of 
police in Murrysville, Pennsylvania “wanted to make sure that 1 knew that 
the FBI’s training had saved children” when a student stabbed 25 people at 
Franklin Regional High School last month. “One of the pieces of training 
we’ve been pushing out is tell responders to be sure to keep a path clear 
for ambulances,” Comey remarks. “One of the things we’ve learned from 
examining past incidents is the law enforcement responders race up, park 
their cars at all sorts of angles and race towards the building, completely 
blocking the roads.” Comey also notes how the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis 



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James F. Tracy 



Unit is regularly working with state and local law enforcement to address 
concerns about individuals who might plot a violent attack. Ryan J. Reilly, 
“Post Sandy Hook Active Shooter Training Has Already Saved Lives, Says 
FBI Director James Comey,” Huffington Post, May 2, 2014. 

May 6 

Sandy Hook School Truth activists and researchers descend on Newtown 
to look for answers concerning the event. The group includes school safety 
consultant Wolfgang Halbig and retired university professor James Fetzer. 
During an afternoon visit to the Western Connecticut United Way to demand 
financial records related to the fundraising activities embarked on following 
the event. The group is turned away by a bevy of police officers. That evening 
Halbig, Fetzer, and several other activists and researchers attend the Newtown 
Board of Education’s meeting and address the body’s members during a public 
comments section. Nanci G. Hutson, “Newtown School Greets Sandy Hook 
Skeptics with Silence,” Connecticut Post, May 7, 2014. See also Jim Fetzer, 
“The Newtown School Board Meeting and the Meaning of Silence,” Veterans 
Today, May 9, 2014. 

A 50-pound vinyl peace sign is reportedly stolen from a Mystic 
Connecticut playground built in memory of slain Sandy Hook Elementary 
student Grace McDonnell. William Lavin, of “Where Angels Play 
Foundation,” claims McDonnell’s mother Lynn found out about the theft 
when the man who apparently took the sign called her. The thief allegedly 
tells McDonnell he stole the sign because he believes the shooting at the 
school was a hoax. 

The incident comes less than a week after graffiti was found on another 
victim’s memorial playground. The message found spray-painted Sunday at 
the Ana Marquez Greene Memorial playground in Hartford read, “Peace to 
Sandy Hook,” using a peace sign and the numeral “2.” It was later removed. 
Ana’s mother, Nelba Marquez Greene says she was not upset with the graffiti 
and plans to raise money for a graffiti board to allow similar condolence 
messages. “Peace Sign Stolen From Connecticut Playground honoring Sandy 
Hook Victim Grace McDonnell,” Associated Press / CBS New York, May 
8,2014. 

May 26 

Following an apparent May 23 mass murder at UC Santa Barbara, victim 
Christopher Martinez’s father, Richard Martinez, comes out and blames 
Congress for not pursuing stricter gun control following the Sandy Hook 
Elementary School massacre in a highly emotional interview with CNN. 



348 




Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



Chris Tognotti, “Congress Should Have Acted After Sandy Hook to Prevent 
UCSB Shootings, Father Tells CNN,” Bustle.com, May 27, 2014. 

Following the May 23 shooting rampage by an apparent lone gunman the 
Associated Press circulates a story that according to experts “mass murderers 
tend to have a history of pent-up frustration and failures, are socially isolated 
and vengeful, blaming others for their unhappiness . . . ‘They all display 
deluded thinking and a lot of rage about feeling so marginalized,’ James 
Garbarino, a professor of psychology at Loyola University Chicago, said in 
an email.” Because mass killings are uncommon, “scholars say there’s no 
way to predict who has deadly intentions, let alone who will reach a breaking 
point and take action.” Christopher Weber and Alicia Chang, “Experts” Mass 
Murderers Are Hard to Predict,” Seattle Times / Associated Press, May 27, 
2014. 

June 4 

CNN’s Anderson Cooper discusses gun control on The Late Show host 
David Letterman. The television news anchor remarks that America “isn’t 
ready” or “isn’t willing” to tackle the “gun control problem,” adding that if 
Sandy Hook wasn’t enough to spur action, then nothing will. Letterman says 
he’s not “anti-gun,” but wanted to know “for the love of Christ, when are we 
going to do something about this nonsense?” “David Letterman, Anderson 
Cooper Discuss Gun Control "Guns.com, June 6, 2014. 

June 5 

In the midst of divorce proceedings filmmaker Michael Moore’s spouse 
Glynn notes that just days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, 
Moore was offered financing for an anti-gun film. In an e-mail sent three days 
after the December 2012 shooting, producer Michael Donovan wrote that he 
was“personally prepared to finance a film” by Moore about the Newtown, 
Connecticut killings. Donovan and Moore won the 2002 Academy Award 
for best documentary feature for “Bowling for Columbine.” While Moore 
acknowledged receiving Donovan’s e-mail, court records do not include the 
director’s response to the offer. “Michael Moore, Wife Tangle Over Divorce 
Dollars,” The Smoking Gun, June 5, 2014. 

June 12 

ProTecht, an Oklahoma company, reports that it has seen business grow 
partly due to the “Body Guard” blanket it markets to keep children safe from 
high-speed debris flying through the air from the tornadoes. Some parents 
also see the device as protection against gunfire in the apparent rash of school 



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James F. Tracy 



shootings following the Sandy Hook massacre. “The government is not 
going to do anything in law about guns, and there is nothing else out there 
to protect the children,” says Stan Schone, who helped develop the blanket. 
Heide Brandes, “Some Turn to Bullet-Resistant Blankets After US School 
Shootings,” Reuters / Yahoo News, June 12, 2014. 

June 15 

James Tracy sends a letter to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, challenging the 
recognized cable news anchor to travel with him to Newtown and partake in 
a genuinely thorough journalistic investigation of the Sandy Hook massacre 
and its aftermath. In the weeks following the event Cooper sent reporters to 
Tracy’s workplace and residence to question Tracy on his initial criticism 
of the event’s media coverage. Evidence accumulating since December 14, 
2012 underlines Tracy’s initial skepticism concerning the event’s authenticity. 
In the letter, Tracy reminds Cooper that it could be the story that defines 
journalistic greatness. “It will call for — indeed require — the public service 
of news professionals like you to find out what really happened and bring the 
culprits to justice!” Tracy intones. “Anderson, at the end of the day it’s just like 
you say each evening: we truly need to ‘keep them honest.’” James F. Tracy, 
“An Open Letter to Anderson Cooper,” Memory Hole Blog, June 23, 2014. 

June 17 

Connecticut State Police Major William Podgorski dies Monday at 
Yale-New Haven Hospital after a brief illness. Podgorski was commander 
of the state police western district, which includes the barracks in Canaan, 
Litchfield, Southbury and Bridgeport. He was directly involved in the Sandy 
Hook investigation and redactions in the official report. Dave Owens, “State 
Police Chief Dies After Brief Illness,” Hartford Courant, June 17, 2014. 

June 21 

Cardenas Hoffman, 30, of Venezuela is arrested in a Miami airport for 
making threatening phone calls to the residents of Newtown, Connecticut, two 
days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Cardenas purportedly 
made 96 calls to Newtown claiming to be Adam Lanza and threatening call 
recipients, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement. He was 
charged with a criminal complaint in May 2013 for “threats in interstate or 
foreign commerce to injure the person of another,” the statement said. “Man 
Arrested for Threatening Phone Calls After Sandy Hook,” NBC News, June 
23,2014. 



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The North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness 
hopes to elevate the discussion this week at its annual conference. 

NAMI-NC executive director Deby Dihoff says the time is right to 
discuss mental health, school safety, gun violence, and community solutions 
post-Sandy Hook. 

The 29th annual conference brings together school system leaders, 
social workers, mental health professionals, judicial and court system 
representatives, law enforcement, as well as individuals living with mental 
illness and family members. 

Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of one of the children killed in the 
Newtown school shooting, will also discuss what can be done to prevent 
tragedies like this from happening again. 

- See more at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/10/Q4/ncs-mental- 
health-advocates-focus-on-lessons-from-sandy-hook/#sthash.RfgpEOiG.dpuf 

the North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hopes 
to elevate the discussion this week at its annual conference. 

NAMI-NC executive director Deby Dihoff says the time is right to 
discuss mental health, school safety, gun violence, and community solutions 
post-Sandy Hook. 

The 29th annual conference brings together school system leaders, 
social workers, mental health professionals, judicial and court system 
representatives, law enforcement, as well as individuals living with mental 
illness and family members. 

Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of one of the children killed in the 
Newtown school shooting, will also discuss what can be done to prevent 
tragedies like this from happening again. 

- See more at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/10/04/ncs-mental- 
health-advocates-focus-on-lessons-from-sandy-hook/#sthash.RfgpEOiG.dpuf 

the North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hopes 
to elevate the discussion this week at its annual conference. 

NAMI-NC executive director Deby Dihoff says the time is right to 
discuss mental health, school safety, gun violence, and community solutions 
post-Sandy Hook. 

The 29th annual conference brings together school system leaders, 



351 




James F. Tracy 



social workers, mental health professionals, judicial and court system 
representatives, law enforcement, as well as individuals living with mental 
illness and family members. 

Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of one of the children killed in the 
Newtown school shooting, will also discuss what can be done to prevent 
tragedies like this from happening again. 

- See more at: http://pidse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/10/04/ncs-mental- 
health-advocates-fociis-on-lessons-from-sandy-hook/#sthash.RfgpEOiG.dpuf 

the North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hopes 
to elevate the discussion this week at its annual conference. 

NAMI-NC executive director Deby Dihoff says the time is right to 
discuss mental health, school safety, gun violence, and community solutions 
post-Sandy Hook. 

The 29th annual conference brings together school system leaders, 
social workers, mental health professionals, judicial and court system 
representatives, law enforcement, as well as individuals living with mental 
illness and family members. 

Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of one of the children killed in the 
Newtown school shooting, will also discuss what can be done to prevent 
tragedies like this from happening again. 

- See more at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/20l3/10/04/ncs-mental- 
health-advocates-focus-on-lessons-from-sandy-hook/#sthash.RfgpEOiG.dpuf 

the North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hopes 
to elevate the discussion this week at its annual conference. 

NAMI-NC executive director Deby Dihoff says the time is right to 
discuss mental health, school safety, gun violence, and community solutions 
post-Sandy Hook. 



The 29th annual conference brings together school system leaders, 
social workers, mental health professionals, judicial and court system 
representatives, law enforcement, as well as individuals living with mental 
illness and family members. 



Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of one of the children killed in the 
Newtown school shooting, will also discuss what can be done to prevent 



352 




Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline 



tragedies like this from happening again. 

- See more at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/10/04/ncs-mental- 
health-advocates-focus-on-lessons-from-sandy-hook/#sthash.RfgpEOiG.dpuf 

Originally published as “Sandy Hook School Massacre Timeline ” (6 January 
2013), memory’holeblog.com 



353 




James F. Tracy 



354 




Murder and Homocide rates before and after gun bans 


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