What happened to the Sandy Hook shooter?

Content advisory: This article includes details of a mass shooting whose victims were young children, please take care while reading.

Mass shootings at schools are a deeply disturbing phenomenon that shock the conscience and leave indelible scars on the victims. One such tragedy that still haunts the nation is the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which occurred on a cold December morning in 2012.

On December 14, 2012, the tranquility of Newtown, Connecticut — a picturesque New England community — was shattered by a tragedy that would leave an indelible mark on the United States. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, who was 20 years old at the time, carried out an attack that resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7 years old, as well as six adult staff members of the school.

The shooting at Sandy Hook

Adam Lanza was raised in Newtown and had a history of mental health issues, though the full extent and impact of these issues on the events that transpired are still subject to analysis and discussion. Reports and investigations following the incident revealed that Lanza was socially reclusive and had significant difficulties relating to peers and others. He also had an intense interest in mass shootings, particularly the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

On the morning of the attack, Lanza first murdered his mother, Nancy Lanza, at their shared home in Newtown. He shot her four times in the head while she was in bed. Following this, he drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School, armed with a semi-automatic rifle, two handguns, and multiple rounds of ammunition.

Upon arriving at the school, Lanza shot his way through a locked glass door to gain entry into the building around 9:30 am. Once inside, he began shooting staff and students in two first-grade classrooms. In less than 11 minutes, he fired 154 rounds, methodically shooting his victims multiple times. Teachers and school staff heroically attempted to protect the children, with some hiding students in closets and bathrooms, while others tried to barricade doors. The school’s principal, Dawn Hochsprung, and school psychologist, Mary Sherlach, were among those killed as they attempted to confront Lanza.

The aftermath

As first responders arrived at the scene and moved toward the sound of gunfire, Lanza committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with one of his handguns. The aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting was profound. Besides the immeasurable grief and disruption to the community, the incident spurred significant national debate on several fronts. Obama’s administration did manage to enact several executive actions aimed at strengthening existing gun laws and improving the background check system. However, attempts to pass more robust legislation, such as a ban on assault weapons and an expansion of background checks for gun purchases, faced formidable challenges in Congress and failed to pass.

This year, a group of those survivors are graduating from high school. This is a bittersweet milestone marked by both sorrow for those classmates who should be alongside them, and pride in how far they have come. As a society, we owe it to them and to all victims of gun violence to do better.