Although Christmas is fast approaching, the residents of Newtown are certainly not going to be feeling the festive mood this year. The tragic tale of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday which killed 20 children and 6 adults including the beloved Principal Dawn Hochsprung have shocked the world and currently remains as the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history based on its death toll. The gunman, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his 52-year old mother first before driving to his former primary school. Just like all the other previous mass school shootings which have occurred in America, this case has once again stimulated fierce debates over gun rights and mental illness in America. However little is known over what triggered the shootings as Adam did not leave behind any diaries or journals which could offer an explanation into his actions.
The issue of gun rights
Gun rights have long remained a contentious issue in America as guns have often taken the blame for tragedies such as the recent Connecticut shootings. According to an article published on ‘The Globe and Mail’ website, gun control activists are using the Sandy Hook shootings to push for stricter laws regarding firearm ownership. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California is pledging to put forward a bill outlawing assault weapons.
According to a report on The New York Times, Adam’s mother, Nancy Lanza was a gun enthusiast and kept a large collection of guns in her home. There are many gun enthusiasts in Newtown and Nancy often took her sons to shooting ranges. Adam Lanzer carried out the shootings by using his mother’s guns which included two handguns and a semi-automatic .223 Bushmaster. According to a report on The Business Insider, the semi-automatic weapon which Adam used was originally banned under a 1994 law that expired in 2004. However, the law was not renewed and now Congress is facing strong criticism over allowing the law to expire.
While guns are fast becoming the scapegoat for the massacre, a report from the Business Insider states that statistics show that overall gun violence in America is declining despite the spike in mass shootings. Brad Plummer of the Washington Post reports that there is no concrete explanation for determining the source of the mass killing. Some sources are attributing the cause of the violence to the widespread media coverage. A 1999 research report revealed that seven mass-shooters were inspired from another mass shooter strengthening the notion that the media should be blamed for the massacre. Another likely factor which is emerging is mental illness.
Mental illness
Screen shot of Adam Lanza taken from Youtube.
A blog post from a mum who has a mentally challenged son has gone viral on the internet and shined the spotlight on mental health. Her blog post which reveals an insightful but disturbing account of life with her mentally disturbed son offers an inkling of how it must be like for Nancy Lanzer to cope with her autistic son. The New York Times reports that many sources close to Nancy described her as high-strung.
According to a report on The Washington Post, Mother Jones found that more than half of the mass shooters from the past 30 years had mental problems. The perpetuator in this case, Adam Lanzer also had a mental problem, namely Asperger’s syndrome which is characterised by being anti-social and unable to react to sensations. Adam Lanzer appeared to have few friends and kept a low profile throughout his life. He did not have a Facebook account which is rare for people his age and his school yearbook did not contain a photo of him. Adam’s former classmate, Olivia DeVivo was quoted on the BBC website describing him as “very shy and (he) didn’t make an effort to interact with anybody”. However evidence for a link between Asperger’s syndrome and violence remains weak.
Regardless of whether it is guns or mental illness that is responsible for the attacks, something needs to be urgently done. According to the Washington Post, the number of mass shootings have increased sharply from 1 or 2 every ten years to 24 mass shootings in the last 7 years. Furthermore much can be learnt about this case which is applicable to Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has offered his condolences to America in a letter to President Obama highlighting ‘our common humanity regardless of nationality or where we live in the world.’ Although it is quite difficult to acquire guns in Singapore, it is definitely possible for a similar massacre to occur in Singapore with the use of other weapons such as knives.
Ordinary citizens turned heroes
One thing which we feel should be highlighted are the heroic acts that have emerged from the shooting. Much of the news coverage of the Sandy Hook shootings are revolving around the grim details of the massacre and who should be blamed for the event. However many inspiring stories of heroism have emerged out of the tragedy. 56-year old psychologist Mary Sherlach and 47-year old principal Dawn Hochsprung were reported by the Huffington Post to have lunged themselves at the gunman in an attempt to stop him. 27-year old teacher Victoria Soto sacrificed her life when she got her students into a bathroom or closet and died when she tried to protect them from the incoming bullets. There were also numerous stories of staff who helped to lessen the death toll through their simple actions. There was the clerk who barricaded 18 kids in the storage room, the worker who alerted the school about the gunman through the intercom and the custodian who disregarded his life to run through the school to warn everyone.
It is always heartening to hear such tales which help restore faith in humanity. It is these selfless deeds which help to save numerous lives and turn ordinary citizens into everyday heroes deserving of the utmost respect. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the victims of the tragedy and salute the heroes of Sandy Hook Elementary School.