Newtown Sandy Hook School Massacre: Updated Timeline, Chronological Assemblage of Coverage
By James F. Tracy
The following timeline of the December 14 mass killing of 20 children and 8 adults in Newtown Connecticut attempts to demonstrate how the event was presented to the public by corporate news media. The chronological assemblage of coverage is not comprehensive of all reports published on the incident but rather seeks to verify how the storyline was to a substantial degree constructed by federal and state law enforcement authorities and major media around the theory that 20-year-old Adam Lanza was the sole agent in the massacre.
This scenario became an established reality through the news media’s pronounced repetition of the lone gunman narrative and meme. This proposed scenario significantly obscured the fact that police encountered and apprehended two additional shooting suspects on the school’s grounds within minutes of the crime. These suspects remain unaccounted for by authorities but the roles they may have played arguably correlate with the shifting information presented by authorities and major news media on injuries and weapons vis-à-vis the mass carnage meted out in the school. While the certain detainment of additional suspects was pointed to by alternative news media, including Natural News, Infowars, Veterans Today and Global Research in the days following the tragedy, the untenable lone gunman narrative has become firmly established in the public psyche via an overwhelming chorus of corporate media reports and interpretations.
Note: Times of occurrences referenced are Eastern Standard Time and in some instances signify time of publication rather than the specific incident cited. Time of publication does not always correlate with exact time of incident. “n.t.” denotes “no time” of publication referenced.
2012
■September
At the start of the 2012-13 academic year Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung announces in a public letter to families the Newtown School District’s new security system installed “in all elementary schools.” Under the newly-announced security regimen, “exterior doors will be locked during the day. Every visitor will be required to ring the doorbell at the front entrance and the office staff will use a visual monitoring system to allow entry. Visitors will still be required to report directly to the office and sign in. If our office staff does not recognize you, you will be required to show identification with a picture id. Please understand that with nearly 700 students and over 1,000 parents representing 500 SHS families, most parents will be asked to show identification. Doors will be locked at approximately 9:30 a.m.” “Principal Outlined New Security Procedures at Sandy Hook Elementary,” Hartford Courant, December 14, 2012, 8:25PM EST.
■October 17
9:47AM
Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung Tweets photo of emergency drill held at Sandy Hook fire station with Sandy Hook Elementary faculty and students participating. Esther Zuckerman, “The Sandy Hook Principal’s Twitter Feed is Haunting,” The Atlantic Wire, December 14, 2012.
■November 7
n.t.
Following Obama’s reelection Senator Diane Feinstein is believed to be meeting with relevant federal agencies to lay groundwork for reenacting assault weapons ban. “Senator Diane Feinstein Moves to Ban All Assault Rifles, High Capacity Magazines, and Pistol Grips,” Market Daily News, November 7, 2012.
■November 27
11:00AM
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy announce Project Longevity, a joint venture by the Justice Department and State of Connecticut, at a news conference in New Haven, Connecticut. The endeavor is described by one law enforcement officials as “a statewide approach that targets repeat criminals, creates alternatives for potential gang members and rallies neighborhoods against violence.” Federal money is being directed to engage Connecticut-based agents, academics and social workers who will work for or with the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Dave Ingram, “Project Longevity: Justice Department, Connecticut State Officials Target Gun Violence,” Reuters/Huffington Post, November 27, 2012. See also, Erin Logan, “Attorney General Eric Holder Discussing Gun Violence,” WTNH.com, November, 27, 2012.
■December 14
9:30AM [estimate]
Only 35 minutes away from Newtown an active shooter drill is taking place at a school in Carmel, Putnam County. The operation is conducted by the Putnam County Emergency Response Team (“ERT). “The ERT is comprised of specially trained and heavily armed officers from the Sheriff’s Office and the Carmel and Kent Police Departments,” the Southeast Brewster Patch newspaper reports. “When news broke of the Newtown shooting, the Putnam County ERT commander called Newtown Police and offered to have the ERT respond to the Sandy Hook school, but that response was not needed because Connecticut police had already secured the scene.” “Sheriff: Putnam Officials to Talk School Safety This Afternoon,” Southeast Brewster Patch, December 18, 2012.
(9:30AM [see below])
CNN reports local authorities take the first 911 calls from Sandy Hook Elementary School. “‘Sandy Hook school. Caller is indicating she thinks someone is shooting in the building,’” a dispatcher told fire and medical personnel, according to 911 tapes. “Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened?” CNN, December 14, 2012. (Recording of fire and law enforcement radio dispatch [below] indicates CNN’s 9:30AM time and account of events is incorrect.)
9:34AM [estimate]
Sandy Hook Elementary School reading consultant Becky Virgalla said she was in a meeting with Principal Dawn Hochsprung, school psychologist Mary Sherlach and other colleagues when the shooter broke into the building on Dec. 14. When they heard the commotion Hochsprung, Sherlach and lead teacher Natalie Hammond proceeded into the hall “to check out the noise that we didn’t know [were] gunshots at first,” Virgalla told Reuters Television at a December 23 Newtown memorial. “The three of them were shot and they yelled back ‘shooter, stay put.’ And they saved my life and the life of four others who were at that meeting,” Virgalla said. “Becky Virgalla, Newtown Shooting Survivor, Says Principal, Others Saved Her in Sandy Hook Rampage,” Reuters/Huffington Post, December 23, 2012.
9:35;52AM
Recording of Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates potential of active shooter situation at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “6-7. Sandy Hook School. Caller indicates she thinks there’s someone shooting in the building.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:36:38AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch suggests arrival of law enforcement at scene; “front glass has been broken [unintelligible]. They’re unsure why.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:37:15AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates continuance of gunfire at Sandy Hook school. “All units: The individual that I have on the phone is continuing to hear what she believes to be gunfire.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:37:40AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates law enforcement units and backup continual arrival at Sandy Hook Elementary. RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:38:15AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates “the shooting appears to have stopped. It is silent at this time. The school is in lockdown.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:39:05AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates citing of shooter suspects fleeing crime scene. “Reports that a teacher saw two shadows running past the building–past the gym, which would be rear [inaudible] the shooting.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:39:20AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates officers’ encounter with and apprehension of additional shooter suspects fleeing scene. “Yeah, we got ‘em. He’s comin’ at me down Crestwood Way! Coming [inaudible] up the left side.” RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:40AM
Chris Manfredonia, alleged father of a 6-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary student, claims he is on his way to the school “to help make gingerbread houses with first-graders when he heard popping sounds and smelled sulfur.” Manfredonia runs around the facility in attempt “to reach his daughter and was briefly handcuffed by police. He later found his child, who had been locked in a small room with a teacher. ‘The whole reason we moved here a year ago is because when you drive down the subdivision, it’s a happy place,’ said his wife, Georgeann Manfredonia. “‘There’s a ton of children here and the families are very kind and supportive.’” Richard A. Serrano, Allen Semuals, Tina Susman, “Gunman Kills 20, 6 Adults at Connecticut Elementary School,” Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2012.
9:40:45AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates “one now in room one who [unintelligible] injury to the foot. [unintelligible] call for an ambulance [unintelligible]. RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
9:45:48AM
Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates officers’ discovery of “bodies here” and requests for ambulatory/first responders’ backup. RadioMan911TV, “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown Police/Fire and CT State Police,” Youtube, December 14, 2012.
(9:50AM [see below])
CNN reports police and first responders arrive at Sandy Hook Elementary. Police did not discharge their weapons. The gunman took his own life with a handgun. “Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened?” CNN, December 14, 2012. (Recording of fire and law enforcement radio dispatch [above] suggests CNN’s 9:50AM time and account of events is incorrect.)
10:14AM
Hartford Courant publishes online Google map of Sandy Hook Elementary School. “Map of Sandy Hook Elementary School,” Hartford Courant, December 14, 2012.
[Late Morning]
In a December 14 Newtown Bee article unidentified school personnel are commended for their courage. Among them are school principal Dawn Hochsprung, who recounted to Bee Editor John Voket[5] how “a masked man entered the school with a rifle and started shooting multiple shots – more than she could count – that went ‘on and on.’” The problem with the account was that it conflicted with a subsequent storyline where Hochsprung was the first to be killed by the gunmen.
Read the rest here:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/updated-sandy-hook-school-massacre-timeline/5324851
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