NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT —
Sadness enveloped the northeastern U.S. community of Newtown, Connecticut as the first two of 26 victims of Friday’s mass shooting were laid to rest. There was tight security at the funerals as a precaution against additional violence.
Mourners streamed into a funeral home in Fairfield, Connecticut where services were held for six-year-old Noah Pozner. Local police lieutenant James Perez described the mood inside as beyond somber and beyond dread. He said the boy’s casket was closed.
“Seeing that very tiny casket, it was even for someone like me who is used to seeing tragic events - it was indescribable. I feel for the family and it really brings it home," he said.
Recent Mass Shootings in the United States
Recent Mass Shootings in the United States
July 2012: A gunman kills 12 people during a showing of Batman in Colorado.
January 2011: A gunman kills six people and wounds U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona.
November 2009: A U.S. Army psychiatrist kills 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas.
April 2007: A Virginia Tech student kills 32 people before committing suicide.
April 1999: Two Columbine High School students kill 12 students, one teacher and themselves in Colorado.
Noah’s uncle eulogized the boy as a kid who was excited about reading, animals and video games, and who would have become a great man and a loving father.
Noah’s funeral was held within a police cordon, complete with bomb-sniffing dogs. Lieutenant Perez said authorities picked up chatter on social media about violence, although none of the threats was deemed credible.
Noah’s classmate Jack Pinto was laid to rest in Newtown, dressed in a jersey with the name and number of his favorite athlete, Victor Cruz of the New York Giants football team. Jack was athletic and was to have been in a wrestling tournament this past week.
Victor Cruz wrote Jack’s name on his shoes and gloves for Sunday’s game and also spoke with a member of the boy's family.
“I spoke to the older brother, he was distraught as well. I told him to stay strong, and I would do anything I can to honor them," he said.
Students who survived the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School will resume classes on Wednesday, but at a different location. It is not clear if the school will ever reopen because of the horror that took place there.
The horrific shootings have sparked yet another debate on gun control in the United States. Several Democratic Party lawmakers have called for a new push to restrict sales of guns and ban military-style assault weapons.
California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the author of an assault-weapons ban that lapsed in 2004, said she will introduce new legislation this week.
Friday's attack was the second worst school shooting in U.S. history. The worst occurred in 2007, when a gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Before that, the deadliest U.S. school shooting was the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 13 students and staff before killing themselves.
President Obama Attends Connecticut Vigil
1/12US President Barack Obama speaks at a memorial service for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
2/12A pair of angel wings and balloons stand after being offered at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
3/12Twenty-seven wooden angel figures are seen placed in a wooded area beside a road near the Sandy Hook Elementary School for the victims of a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
4/12Ava Staiti, 7, of New Milford, Conn., looks up at her mother Emily Staiti, not pictured, while visiting a sidewalk memorial with 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, December 16, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
5/12Mourners gather for a candlelight vigil at Ram's Pasture to remember shooting victims, December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
6/12A woman reacts while paying respects for shooting victims at a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, December 16, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
7/12A young child points at candles as people pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
8/12People gather at a memorial for victims near the school on the first Sunday following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
9/12Residents hold a candlelight vigil outside Newtown High School after President Barack Obama delivered remarks at an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, December 16, 2012.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
10/12Varinder Singh, of the Queens borough of New York, joins a group of Sikhs from around the Northeastern U.S., in a moment of prayer as a memorial service is broadcast over a loudspeaker outside Newtown High School, December 16, 2012.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
11/12A young child points at candles as people pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
12/12Kate Suba, left, Jaden Albrecht, center, and Simran Chand pay their respects at one of the makeshift memorials in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sunday, December 16, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.
Crowds gathered to welcome President Obama at Newtown High School’s auditorium where a multi-faith vigil was held.
