NEWTOWN, Conn. — The
chiming of bells reverberated throughout Newtown on Friday,
commemorating one week since the crackle of gunfire in a schoolhouse
killed 20 children and six adults in a massacre that has shaken the
community — and the nation — to its core.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy
gathered with other officials in rain and wind on the steps of the
Edmond Town Hall as the bell rang 26 times in memory of each life lost
at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The gunman also killed his mother
before the massacre, and himself afterward.
Officials didn't make any formal remark, and similar commemorations took place throughout the country.
Though
the massacre does not rank as the deadliest school shooting in U.S.
history — that happened at Virginia Tech — the tender age of the victims
and the absence of any apparent motive has struck at Americans' hearts
and minds. The gunman used a military-style assault rifle loaded with
ammunition intended to inflict maximum damage, officials have said.
The White House said President Barack Obama privately observed the moment of silence.
Just
a week after the attack, gun control has taken a front burner in
Congress, where previous mass shootings produced only minimal
legislative reaction. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that the
Obama administration would push to tighten gun laws.
The National
Rifle Association, at its first public event since the shootings, called
Friday for armed police officers to be posted in American school to
stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."
Wayne LaPierre, CEO
of the nation's largest gun-rights lobby with 4.3 million members, said
at the Washington news conference that, "The only thing that stops a bad
guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture.
Though
security was tight, the briefing was interrupted twice by people
holding up signs that blamed the NRA for killing children. The
protesters were taken from the room.
Traffic stopped in the streets outside the town hall in Newtown as bells rang out to honor the dead.
Malloy,
taking deep breaths with his hands folded in front of him, was joined
by the Newtown superintendent of schools, lawmakers and other officials
as bells rang out at the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church.
Firefighters
bowed their heads around a memorial filled with teddy bears, other
stuffed animals and a New York Giants pillow. Some hugged and onlookers
shook their hands afterward.
"When I heard the 26 bells ring it
just melted my soul," said Kerrie Glassman, of Sandy Hook, who said she
knew seven of the victims. "It's just overwhelming. You just can't
believe this happened in our town."
Milysa Musiel, 21, came from neighboring Monroe and said she felt helpless.
"Everybody wants to do something," she said. "It shook that false sense of security that we had. This is my backyard."
Chip
Carpenter, a volunteer with the police and fire department, said he was
upset to see the wind knocking down tents for memorials.
"I was
so distraught this morning," he said. "I just cried for the longest
time. Just seeing everything falling apart. We suffered enough here.
"Among
those who gathered in Newtown was a group of 13 survivors of the 2005
school shooting on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The
group drove nearly 1,500 miles to support and comfort the families and
survivors. They brought gifts intended to bring a message of resilience
and hope, including a plaque that survivors of the 1999 Columbine
shooting gave to them after their experience.
"This is just something we had to do," said Ashley Lejeunesse, 23, who was also in the Red Lake classroom.
The chiming of bells reverberated throughout the nation and there were observances around the world.
In
Washington, religious leaders from a broad range of faiths gathered at
Washington National Cathedral to call for their congregations to lobby
Congress to enact gun control and mental health reforms to address
pervasive gun violence. In a garden beside the National Cathedral, they
paused to listen as a funeral bell tolled.
In New York City, bells
at the historic Trinity Church near the World Trade Center tolled 28
times. In Massachusetts, bells in churches around the state, including
Boston's historic Old North Church, rang in honor of those killed in the
attack. A moment of silence was observed throughout Colorado, and bells
rang out in Denver.
In the west African nation of Liberia, 20
children from a school sponsored by the Newtown Rotary Club gathered at
the U.S. Embassy to give their condolences. Each child from the Caroline
Miller School in Monrovia placed a flower on a poster bearing the name
of a victim of the shooting.
When the bells tolled to honor the
victims of last week's shooting rampage, they did so 26 times, for each
child and staff member killed.
There is rarely a mention by
residents of the first person police said Adam Lanza killed that
morning: his mother, Nancy, who was shot in the head four times while
she lay in bed.
A private funeral was held Thursday in New
Hampshire for Nancy Lanza, according to Donald Briggs, the police chief
in Kingston, N.H., where her funeral was held. About 25 family members
attended the ceremony.
Newtown and environs weathered a fourth day of funerals Thursday, and five more funerals or memorials were scheduled for Friday.
Investigators
have said that Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast, visited shooting ranges
several times and that her son also visited an area range.
Authorities
say Adam Lanza shot his mother at their home and then took her car and
some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A
Connecticut official said Nancy Lanza was shot four times in the head
with a .22-caliber rifle.
Adam Lanza was wearing all black, with
an olive-drab utility vest, during the school attack. Investigators have
found no letters or diaries that could explain the rampage.
Friends and acquaintances have described him as intelligent, but odd and quiet.
Friends
said he would stare down at the floor and not speak when she brought
him into a local pizzeria. They knew that he'd switched schools more
than once and that she'd tried home schooling him. But while she
occasionally expressed concern about his future during evenings at the
bar, she never complained.
