The perpetrator, year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children between six and seven years old, and 6 adult staff members. Earlier that day, before driving to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the school, Lanza killed himself with a gunshot to the head. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in Connecticut history and the deadliest at an elementary school in U.
The shooting prompted renewed debate about gun control in the United States , including proposals to make the background check system universal, and for new federal and state gun legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain types of semi-automatic firearms and magazines which can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. A November report issued by the Connecticut State Attorney's office stated that Lanza acted alone and planned his actions, but provided no indication of why he did so, or why he targeted the school.
A report issued by the Office of the Child Advocate in November said that Lanza had Asperger's syndrome and, as a teenager, suffered from depression , anxiety , and obsessive-compulsive disorder , but concluded that these factors "neither caused nor led to his murderous acts". The report went on to say, "his severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems [ As of November 30, , children were enrolled in kindergarten through fourth grade at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Doors to the school were locked at a. Under the Connecticut gun laws at the time, [ 17 ] the year-old Lanza was old enough to carry a long gun, such as a rifle or shotgun, [ 18 ] but too young to own or carry handguns.
Sometime before a. Shortly after a. Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were meeting with other faculty members when they heard, but did not recognize, gunshots. Hochsprung, Sherlach, and lead teacher Natalie Hammond went into the hall to determine the source of the sounds and encountered Lanza. A faculty member who was at the meeting said that the three women called out "Shooter, stay put! A teacher hiding in the math lab heard school janitor Rick Thorne yell, "Put the gun down!
