Wauwatosa artist produces portraits children killed in Sandy Hook shooting
WAUWATOSA (WITI) -- Saturday, December 14th marked the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 20 young students and six adults were killed.
Remembering the Sandy Hook tragedy one year later
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Saturday, December 14th marked the one year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
City Hall bells to ring Saturday to remember Newtown victims
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The bell at Milwaukee City Hall will ring 26 times on Saturday, December 14th to remember the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which took place one year ago.Mayor Tom Barrett encouraged people in Milwaukee to use the occasion to reflect on all the victims of gun violence in our community.“The Newtown, Connecticut shooting was a horrible event.
Connecticut panel: Release 911 calls in Newtown massacre
(CNN) -- The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission voted unanimously to recommend that 911 calls and other evidence related to the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown be released to the public.Twenty-six people, including 20 first-graders, were killed by gunman Adam Lanza at the school on December 14.The decision was seen as the first challenge to a new Connecticut law that blocks public disclosure of some evidence, including photos of those who died in the shooting, on the grounds that their release would "constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of the victim or the victim's surviving family members."But that legislation also says that all 911 recordings, as well as audio recordings of first responders, firefighters and police, should be made available.The Associated Press has challenged the authorities' refusal to release the 911 tapes, as well as police records related to the Lanza family.In a report issued in August, an attorney for the commission criticized Newtown police for ceding to the State Attorney's demand that the 911 calls and other records be withheld from the Associated Press and called for their release."While the new law exempts from disclosure certain audio recordings of conversations, presumably between first responders, in which the conditions of victims are described in such recordings, it specifically does not shield from disclosure recordings of 911 calls from members of the public to law enforcement agencies," the report said.It also found that although the AP made its initial request in December, police did not even search for the recordings until May 31.In a brief responding to AP's complaint, Stephen Sedensky III, state's attorney for Danbury, said "disclosure of the 911 calls would reveal the identity of witnesses not otherwise known and subject them to threat or intimidation if their identities were made known."Sedensky also argued that release of the tapes would jeopardize his investigation and that it would harm the survivors, whom he considers victims of an act of child abuse.A spokesman for Sedensky said he expects to issue a report on his investigation sometime this fall.The nine-member commission decided that the tapes were public record and were not exempted from the state's Freedom of Information Act, so police should no longer withhold them.Any release is not likely to happen immediately.
6 months since Sandy Hook: Newtown residents find voice
NEWTOWN, Connecticut (CNN) -- The door to the shuttered mental hospital swings open onto a scene of decay: Chunks of fallen plaster and mold-infested insulation rest on the floor of a once magnificent room.Chandeliers have given way to crumbling ceilings.
Woman pleads guilty in Newtown fundraising scheme
(CNN) -- A New York woman accused of trying to cash in on the Newtown elementary school shootings pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and to lying to FBI agents, federal prosecutors in Connecticut said.Nouel Alba, 37, faces sentencing on August 29 in Hartford.
New York woman indicted in Newtown shooting charity scam
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Bronx woman accused of a charity scam after the Connecticut school shooting was indicted Tuesday on charges of scheming to defraud and identity theft, according to prosecutors.Nouel Alba, 37, is accused of falsely claiming to be an aunt of Noah Pozner, one of the 20 schoolchildren killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in December, the Bronx District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
Sandy Hook task force recommends demolition and rebuilding
(CNN) -- To erase some of the emotional scars left behind from the December shooting massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, an advisory board wants the building torn down and replaced.The Sandy Hook Task Force voted unanimously late Friday to recommend to the Newtown, Connecticut, board of education to build a new school on the site of the existing building.Adam Lanza burst into the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 armed with a semiautomatic Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle and two handguns.
Sandy Hook families to ride AF-1 to DC, lobby Senate
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Eleven family members of children killed at Sandy Hook elementary school will fly to Washington with President Barack Obama on board Air Force One Monday, according to a senior administration official and representatives of the families.They'll spend two days lobbying senators to pass gun safety legislation, after joining the president for an event in Hartford, Connecticut at which the president will press Congress to act in the wake of the Newtown killings.The group, members of Sandy Hook Promise, will arrive in Washington with a letter signed by 120 extended family members of Sandy Hook victims.
Store that sold gun to CT shooter's mom loses license
(CNN) -- A Connecticut store that sold a gun used to kill 26 people last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School can no longer legally sell firearms.Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told CNN on Friday the Riverview Gun Sales shop in East Windsor, Connecticut, lost its federal firearms license December 20 -- six days after the massacre about 65 miles southwest in Newtown.That day, after killing his mother in their Newtown home, Adam Lanza drove to the elementary school and shot dead 20 young children and six adults using a semiautomatic Bushmaster .223-caliber model XM15 rifle.The shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, bought the Bushmaster firearm two years ago at Riverview Gun Sales, according to Detective Matthew Carl of the East Windsor Police Department.The ATF spokeswoman did not comment on why the store's license was revoked, including if it had anything to do with the Newtown rampage.But Carl said "probably the reason the ATF raided the store on December 20 was for poor keeping of the records."According to police, on December 15 -- a day after the Sandy Hook shooting -- a man was arrested at Riverview Gun Sales for stealing a .50-caliber firearm.
Connecticut panel crafts gun law overhaul
(CNN) -- A bipartisan legislative task force in Connecticut has agreed on a major overhaul of the state's gun laws in the aftermath of December's deadly attack on an elementary school, lawmakers announced Monday.The draft legislation would add more than 100 types of guns to the state's list of banned assault weapons; limit the capacity of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds; ban armor-piercing bullets; require background checks for all weapon sales, including at gun shows; establish safety standards for school buildings; allow mental health training for teachers; and expand mental health research in the state."Nobody will be able to say that this bill is absolutely perfect, but no one will also be able to say that this bill fails the test when it comes to being the strongest in the country and the most comprehensive bill in the country," Connecticut Senate President Don Williams, a Democrat and a member of the task force, said Monday.The General Assembly will take up the legislation when it returns to session Wednesday."There is nothing in this package that would have stopped someone like Adam Lanza," said Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, referring to the gunman who killed 25 children and adults December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut. "In his case, he stole the guns and went on a murderous rampage."Limiting magazine capacity or mandating registration will only affect law-abiding persons, not criminals bent on murder," Wilson added.A Republican member of the task force, House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, tried to reassure gun owners."No gun owner will lose their gun, no gun owner will lose their magazine they will not lose the use of said gun or magazine, so long as they follow our rules and register," he said. "Are there tighter restrictions on their use, etc.?
Sandy Hook alum hosts fundraiser for school in Green Bay
GREEN BAY (WITI) -- A musician originally from Newtown, Connecticut hosted a fundraiser for Sandy Hook shooting victims in a Green Bay coffee shop.Music filled a packed Harmony Cafe on Saturday afternoon, March 30th for the event.The fundraiser featured a silent auction to raise money for families, survivors and first responders in Newtown.John Mazzariello organized the event.
Documents reveal new details about Sandy Hook shootings
(CNN) -- It took fewer than five minutes for Adam Lanza to squeeze off 154 rounds, upending life in Newtown, Connecticut, and triggering a renewed flurry of debate over gun control.More than three months after the school massacre, new details emerged Thursday about the troubled young man who opened fire inside two classrooms at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children and six adults.But a motive for the attack remains elusive.The details came in the release of five search warrants and related documents, along with a statement from Stephen J.
NRA bombards Newtown residents with robo calls
NEWTOWN, CT (CNN) -- A little more than three months after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a series of robo calls hoping to pressure politicians from passing anti-gun legislation is causing outrage.While state lawmakers are trying to come up with a comprehensive bill aimed at reducing gun violence and improving safety, the National Rifle Association is calling homes and calling on voters to pressure local leaders into rejecting any new gun control laws."Calling from 703-267-1200 with an urgent legislative alert.
Over 50% of Wisconsin schools may be unprepared to stop school shooting
WISCONSIN (WITI) -- Days after the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, FOX6 News began conducting perhaps the most extensive security survey of schools in southeastern Wisconsin.
Report: Sandy Hook shooter tried to emulate Norway massacre
(CNN) -- The shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School may have been motivated by a desire by Adam Lanza to outdo Andres Breivik, the Norwegian man who killed 77 people in July 2011, law enforcement sources told CBS Evening News.The unnamed sources said Lanza saw himself as being in direct competition with Breivik, who killed eight with a bombing in downtown Oslo before he moved to a nearby island where he hunted down and fatally shot 69 people.According to the sources, the 20-year-old Lanza wanted to top Breivik's death toll and went to the Connecticut school on December 14 because it was the "easiest target" and had the "largest cluster of people."Video games to blame?The same officials also linked Lanza's actions to violent video games.The officials, who have been briefed on the Newtown, Connecticut, investigation, told CBS that evidence shows Lanza was likely acting out the fantasies of a video game in killing 20 children and six adults at the school.Lanza's mother, Nancy, also was found shot dead at her Newtown home.
Playgrounds in storm areas memorialize Newtown victims
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A reference to the name "Sandy" can evoke painful reminders of last year's tragedies, be it the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School or an historic storm that wiped out thousands of homes and businesses, and left millions in the dark.But New Jersey's largest firefighters union is looking to honor those affected by both calamities and join them and their mutual names into something more positive.Firefighters have begun collecting donations for the "The Sandy Ground Project," with 26 playgrounds to be built in communities recovering from the storm -- one for each victim gunned down on December 14 at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut."Our only challenge is to raise the money," said Bill Lavin, president of the Firefighters' Mutual Benevolent Association, whose 5,000 members are supporting the $2.1 million initiative on the website thesandygroundproject.org.New Jersey and New York each are expected to get 10 playgrounds, with Connecticut getting six.
Newtown calls on CT to 'show America the way' on gun control
(CNN) -- They spoke with the passion that only those who have lost so much can speak.
Sandy Hook hearing reveals sharp divide on gun control
(CNN) -- His voice wavering, Mark Mattioli wiped away tears as he recalled the day his 6-year-old son died, when a man wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle broke into Sandy Hook Elementary School and began shooting.
Sandy Hook commission holds first meeting
(CNN) -- A special advisory commission tasked by Connecticut Gov.