The murders of 20 children and eight adults in Newton, CT, have left an indelible impact not only on the small Northeastern town of approximately 28,000 but on much of the rest of the world as well.
Journalists from around the globe descended on Newtown on Dec.14 when the gunman, Adam Lanza, 20, forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire on the children and their teachers.
Lanza had killed his mother, Nancy, earlier that morning before making his way to the school. The massacre is now the second largest in United States history behind the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech University murders, which claimed 32 lives.
A week after the multiple slayings, discussions about gun violence, mental illness and school security have been added to the mix of questions as well as the primary motive for the killings: what motivated Lanza to kill his mother and 28 innocent people?
The Culver City Unified School District has an established protocol in case there is a tragedy similar to the Newtown murders, said CCUSD Board President Katherine Paspalis. “Our teachers and students practice lockdown procedures and there is a school resource officer at the district,” Paspalis told the News.
The school district released a statement on Dec. 14 regarding the fatal shootings.
“Our sympathies and prayers go out to everyone touched by the unspeakable tragedy that occurred today at Sandy Hook Elementary school in the community of Newtown, CT,” the statement read.
“Your children will hear about this incident through the media, friends or others and so talking with them about it in a calm way is a good idea. However, it is important to remember that children of different ages and levels of development will react differently to the tragedy. Here are some tips to help tailor your conversation to your child’s need.”
Included in the statement were a series of recommendations or guidelines that parents were encouraged to read when discussing the tragedy with their children.
Dr. Stephanie Mihalas, a licensed child psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist who does research on school violence and aggression, supports the idea of not engaging them in conversation about traumatic events like the Newtown killings if they do not inquire about it or have not heard about them.
But she does not agree that parents should ignore the inquiries of youngsters who are curious about these types of events.
“If the child has heard about it, it is important to address what their worst fear is,” Mihalas recommends. “It is important that parents make sure that the child knows that you are going to keep them safe.
“There should not be a code of silence.”
CCUSD Superintendent David LaRose said the release was put together in consultation with a variety of “national, state and local agencies.
“We didn’t develop it on our own.”
District officials posted an updated version regarding their school safety practices on its website on Dec. 17.
LaRose said the district, like Sandy Hook and others around the nation, has evacuation and lockdown protocols in case of such incidents. “They were just updated this fall,” the superintendent said.
On June 12, a sixth grade student was arrested for bringing a gun to Culver City Middle School. No one was injured as the .22 caliber pistol was unloaded.
“Hearing about a tragedy like (Sandy Hook) makes you feel really vulnerable,” said Claudia Vizcarra, a Culver City parent whose son attends the local middle school.
Vizcarra said her 11-year old son was upset about the killings and searched online several times a day for information on Newtown. She worried that he might become traumatized by the saturation of coverage on television and the Internet.
Vizcarra said her son began to calm down after she talked to him about what had occurred and later he created a message citing his empathy for the dead children and the town on a T-shirt, which he decided to wear to school.
That is one avenue through which children as well as adolescents handle tragedy, said Mihalas.
“Art is a way that children express themselves in these circumstances,” the psychologist said.
Vizcarra, who works for the Los Angeles Unified School District, agrees that with the advent of technology and social media as well as the fact some preschool children may have older siblings, that it might be unrealistic to believe that many of these children have not heard something about the Newtown massacre.
“It’s impossible to think that they wouldn’t hear about it,” she acknowledged. “But I think it’s important that they know that school is still one of the safest places for children.”
Mihalas said the best times to discuss incidents like these if children are aware of them is during mealtime, in the car and at bedtime.
The Newtown slayings were preceded by the murders of two people in a Portland, Ore. shopping mall on Dec. 11 by 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts, who used an AR-15 rifle. Roberts shot and wounded a15 year old bystander before taking his own life.
Calls for comment to the state chapter of the National Rife Association were not returned at press time.
Paspalis, who is from Stamford, CT, approximately 42 miles from Newton, agrees with many lawmakers and citizens that a national dialogue on gun safety, the easy access to weapons and some form of gun control is long overdue.
“I find it appalling that in this day and age that there might be some pushback,” she asserted. “What we need in this country is a real conversation about gun control.”
The NRA’s Facebook page disappeared on Dec. 17.
The following day, the powerful lobbying organization broke its nearly week-long silence with an email statement to reporters on the Newtown shooting deaths.
“The National Rifle Association of America is made up of four million moms and dads, sons and daughters—and we were shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown,” the organization said in a statement emailed to reporters Dec. 18.
“The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.”
The group said it plans to hold a “major news conference” on Friday, Dec. 21.