The Glory Days Baseball League returns to Clune Park in Forked River for a third season and is open to men ages 23-50 who are looking to have fun and play competitive baseball at the same time.  The league is made up of four teams of players who are mainly from Lacey Township although there are several from other areas.  Using wood bats (like in the Glory Days) they play games on Wednesday nights from July through late October.

One of the unique features of the league is they use a draft to select players and teams are a true mix of ages and talent level featuring many former high school and college players.  Those not sure if they have the talent to return to the game can come to workouts and see if they can compete.  This year the league joined the Men’s Senior Baseball League which will allow them to put together a tournament team for the first time.

Another unique aspect is each year the league chooses uniforms from different eras of Major League Baseball but this year they are looking to create uniforms to highlight a shore theme was part of the ongoing Restore the Shore effort.  Among the team names being considered are the Jet Stars, Bay Sox, Sightseers and Boardwalk Bums.

The cost to play is $250 per player and signups will take place on May 22^nd and May 29^th from 8-9pm at the Applebee’s on Route 9 in Forked River.  You can also visit their website at: leaguelineup.com/glorydaysbaseball

President Obama will visit Boston on Thursday to attend an interfaith service as the investigation continues into Monday’s Boston Marathon explosions that injured 176 and left 3 dead.

No details about the service or the President’s visit have been released which was announced at a late afternoon press conference.

Boston University has announced that a BU graduate student is third victim of the explosion but would not release the student’s name or nationality according to WCVB TV. Officials at the press conference said next-of-kin of the third victim had not yet been notified. BU says the student was with two friends who were watching the race at the finish line, not far from the university’s campus. One of the friends, also a grad student at the university, was injured and is at Boston Medical Center in stable condition.

The FBI confirmed the fact that the bombs were in explosive devices and that black vinyl was found on the ground near where they went off but did not reveal much else about their investigation. They reiterated that no specific threat was made about the Marathon and no group has stepped forward to take credit.

Boston Police Commissioner says they have received a lot of pictures and video from the public and special FBI teams are coming to Boston to review the footage.

Governor Duvall Patrick (D) said the National Guard will be present in Boston for the forseeable future.

“A Wonderful, Wonderful Girl’

The second victim of the explosions  has been identified as a 29-year-old woman from Medford, Massachusetts, Krystle Campbell  who was at the race to cheer on her boyfriend  running the race and had brought along a friend to take a picture as he crossed the finish line.

The friend was seriously injured in the explosion.

“My daughter was the most lovable girl. She helped everybody and I’m just so shocked right now. We’re just devastated,” her father William A. Campbell told Yahoo! News.  “She was a wonderful, wonderful girl. Always willing to lend a hand.”

William did not know if the boyfriend finished the race.

Bomb In A Pressure Cooker

CBS News reports one of the bombs, classified as “low explosive” was inside a metal pressure cooker and then into a black nylon bag or back pack. Pieces of an electronic circuit board were found meaning that the explosive was detonated with a timer.

The bomb was filled with BBs,nails and ball bearings. Dr. George Velmahos, the chief of trauma surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, says doctors removed “a variety of sharp objects,” including pellets and nails, from the wounds of victims.

Only Two Bombs

At a morning briefing Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick (D) no unexploded bombs were found in Copley Square. He says the only explosives were the ones that went off Monday.   FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers says that there is no imminent danger to the public of further explosions and described the investigation as being “worldwide.”

Police and law enforcement continued to refuse questions about specific aspects of the investigation including possible suspects. They did say no one in custody is linked to the bombings.

President Obama has ordered flags lowered to half staff at the White House and all federal buildings.

Terror was brought to the city of Boston, Mayor Says

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in said, “Terror was brought to the city of Boston” and thanked the first responders and those who immediately began to help after the bombs went off.

State police warned that Boston will have an enhanced police presence in the coming days.

Police are also looking for photos and video taken at the time of the explosion. Davis called it “the most photographed area of the country” during the marathon. Anyone something to submit should call 1(800)CALLFBI. Please include the time of the video or photo.

Meanwhile, WCVB TV reports that the Copley Square area was swept for bombs twice before the runners came through and turned up nothing.

A Visit To An Apartment In Revere

WBZ TV reports that  Massachusetts State Police converged on an apartment in nearby Revere but would not say why or what they were looking for other than to say it is in connection with the bombings.  Investigators were seen leaving with brown paper bags, plastic trash bags and a duffel bag.

The roommate of the Saudi Arabian man tells the Boston Globe  “I don’t think he could do that.” The man is described as a devout Muslim who is 20-years-old and is attending an English language school.

Revere Fire Department on its Facebook page posted that they were going to assist with the search for a “person of interest.”

Police later said the man was actually a victim and was co-operating with investigators.

Doctors treating victims have removed what some described as ball bearings from their bodies. Dr. Stephen Epstein of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center tells WCVB TV that one victim had “what appears to be small, uniform round objects throughout it – similar in the appearance to BBs.”

Federal investigators said no one had claimed responsibility for the devastating attack on one of the city’s most famous civic holidays, Patriots Day.  Two explosive devices went off within 15 seconds of each other in the finish line area in Copley Square at 2:45 p.m. following the running of the Boston Marathon.

U.S. Rep. William Keating, a member of the congressional Homeland Security Committee, says the twin bombs appear to be a coordinated attack according to WCVB TV.

An 8-Year-Old Victim

Numerous media outlets identify one of the victims of the blast as 8-year-old Martin Richard. His mother and sister were seriously injured in the explosions as well according to WCVB TV  which reports his family placed a single candle in the window of their Dorchester home last night

Those who work in Boston are encouraged to report as usual but should expect heightened security and checkpoints. The MBTA subway will not be stopping in Copley Square. Flights are coming in-and-out of Boston’s Logan Airport as usual but tonight’s Celtics game at Boston Garden against the Indiana Pacers has been cancelled.

New Englanders who already had a tax-filing deadline of today because of the Patriot’s Day holiday will not have to file by today. Further details will be announced by today.

The American Red Cross in Boston is not calling for blood donations to help victims. “There is currently enough blood on the shelves to meet demand,” tweeted @RedCross.

Heightened Security In New Jersey

New Jersey’s bridges and tunnels are on heightened alert but the FBI says there has been no specific threats made. “The New Jersey State Police has recalled and pre-deployed our bomb unit, aviation crews, tactical teams, and search and rescue assets,” Lt. Stephen Jones, a department spokesman, said in a statement.

“NJ Transit police have deployed both uniformed and plain clothed officers to further patrol our system and keep our customers safe,” the organization said in a statement, asking riders to be aware of suspicious activity.

Increase In Security

A surge of security from coast-to-coast and across the Atlantic has followed the Boston Marathon bombings. Security intensified at the White House, New York’s Times Square, and in London ahead of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s funeral in London. The London Marathon is also scheduled this weekend. Police in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Detroit, San Diego and Las Vegas monitored landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events.

The London Marathon will go on as scheduled. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson tells the BBC he is “absolutely confident” the race will be run on Sunday. “This is one of those instances where the best way to show solidarity with Boston is to continue,” he added.

The FBI is aware of the significance of April on the calendar. Yesterday was Patriots Day in Massachusetts and also the day federal income tax forms needed to be filed. One hundred people were killed in April, 1993 in the FBI’s siege of a compound in Waco, Texas while in April, 1995 nearly 200 were killed in the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.

[button href="http://nj1015.com/tags/boston-marathon/" title="FULL COVERAGE: Boston Marathon Explosion" align="center"]

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Source: 2nd Victim Of Boston Marathon Bombing Identified [VIDEO]

Two explosions went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon injuring at least 130 people, and killing at least 3 people according to Boston Police including an 8-year-old.   Of those 124 people, 15 of them are in critical condition. 

The FBI has taken the lead on the investigation into the bombing as victims continue to be treated at heavily guarded hospitals in and around Boston.

CNN reports that a law enforcement advisory is telling officers to be on the lookout for a “darker-skinned or black male” with a possible foreign accent in connection with bombing

The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states.

At an evening press conference investigators would not elaborate on a Saudi national’s connection with the bombing. He has a leg wound and was under guard at a Boston hospital. They would not call him a suspect.

Police are going through trash cans and items left behind by runners & spectators for evidence and other possible explosive items.

Investigators will hold another briefing on Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.

President Obama promised “we will get to the bottom of this” and “those responsible for explosions `will feel the full weight of justice’

Massachusetts Congressman  Bill Keating (D), a member of the House Homeland Security committee, said an unexploded device was found at a hotel on Boylston Street, and another unexploded device was found at an undisclosed location. Keating described the incidents as a “sophisticated, coordinated, planned attack.”

CBS reports one of the devices was found under the grandstand.

At a later press conference, Boston Police backed off making a connection between a fire at the ice the John F. Kennedy Library in the Dorchester section of Boston, which is not near the Marathon route, and the Marathon explosions. WBZ TV in Boston says that a meeting at the library was cancelled due to electrical problems.

Police are still investigating a connection between the incidents. They ask the for the public’s help in reporting anything suspicious they may have seen this afternoon.

[button href="http://www.ibtimes.com/boston-police-scanner-online-stream-live-audio-marathon-explosions-site-1193493#" title="AUDIO: Listen To Boston Police & Fire Scanners" align="center"]

[button href="http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/15/explosions-rock-boston-marathon-finish-line-dozens-injured/yLhfDT1XC3HXSa8wPiVijL/igraphic.html" title="MAPS: See Where The Explosions Took Place" align="center"]

CBS also reports surveillance photos show a man carrying a backpack in the area where the explosions went off. Boston Police, however, say no suspect is in custody.

No Cell Phone Shut Down

Several cell phone providers deny that they shut down cell phone service in Boston immediately after the explosions. “Verizon Wireless has not been asked by any government agency to turn down its wireless service,” a spokesman told CNN. Cell service around the Boston area was overloaded and caused gaps and delays of service

Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick (D) urged people to get out of the area and not to congregate in groups.

Boston Police and Homeland Security say there were no credible threats made to the race leading to speculation that the attack may be “home grown” according to WBZ TV.

A no-fly zone over the site of two explosions at the annual Boston marathon has been lifted.

Some Business As Usual

Boston Mayor Tom Menino is urging people who work in Boston to report as usual. However, Governor Patrick warns there will be heightened security with backpack and bag checks. The MBTA’s Copley Square station will be closed on Tuesday.  The Green Line, however, will operate through the Back Bay, making stops at Hynes and Arlington Stawtions.

The Boston Bruins game against the Ottawa Senators at Boston Garden tonight has been cancelled. The Celtics game with the Indiana Pacers tomorrow night has also been cancelled and will not be made up.

Flights are getting in and out of Boston’s Logan Airport but all trains out of Boston’s North Station headed for the northern suburbs are being stopped and riders are being searched.

2 Explosions 15 Seconds Apart

The first explosion happened across from the Lenox Hotel; the second explosion rang out about 15 seconds later. WCVB TV which reports some of the injuries involved lost limbs.

The Boston Marathon’s Facebook page said the explosions were caused by bombs.

“I was turning the corner. I was near the Hynes (Convention) Center. I saw two explosions. I just turned around and ran. It was a fireball — a huge fireball,” one runner told WCVB TV.

Much of the Back Bay section of Boston has been put on lockdown including Emerson College. Service on the MBTA subway through the area has been suspended.

New Jersey’s EMS Task Force has issued a heightened state of readiness due to the explosion for the next 12 hours.

Due to the events in Boston – the NJ EMS Task Force has issued a HEIGHTENED STATE OF READINESS order to all major… fb.me/GtN0Yszw

— NJ EMS Task Force (@NJEMSTF) April 15, 2013

Neither race officials nor public officials could immediately estimate the number or degree of injuries.

A Patriots Day Tradition

Thousands were gathered at the finish line across from the Boston Public Library and the Prudential Center as the twin explosions went off. “There are a lot of people down,” said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina. He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding. Many of the injured appeared to be spectators who gathered for the 117th running of the race in Boston’s Copley Square.  Runners were still coming down Boylston Street as the explosion went off and were diverted onto another street towards a tent where many runners meet up with friends and family at the end of the race.  

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Source: Explosions Rock Boston Marathon Finish Line [VIDEO]

A gritty new crime drama, set right here on the Jersey Shore, is set to kickoff at the 2013 Garden State Film Festival and we’ve got an exclusive first look at some still shots from the production.

‘West End’ tells the story of a man born into a crime family who leaves home only to return when his father is murdered. Things have changed drastically in his sleepy Shore community and leaves him with questions to answer.

The movie was written and directed by native New Jerseyean Joe Basile and stars Neal Bledsoe, Peter Onorati and Eric Roberts.

Check out these exclusive photos from the movie. You might recognize some of your favorite Jersey Shore landmarks.

‘West End’ will be shown on Saturday, April 6 at 10:30 p.m. in the Paramount Theatre, 1300 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park as part of the Garden State Film Festival.

For more information, check out www.westendthemovie.com.

Monmouth University’s recruiting class includes just one local player in Freehold Township defensive end Manny Maragoto among the 20 players announced by head coach Kevin Callahan today at the MAC. NCAA rules forbid parents and recruits from being on campus during Signing Day announcements.

Monsignor Donovan’s first Division 1 recruit in decades is Brad Henson and after first deciding on Virginia, the Griffins offensive lineman has changed his mind and signed with the University of North Carolina.

A pair of shore players are headed to Penn State: .highly-recruited defensive end Garrett Sickels of Red Bank and Toms River North kicker Chris Gula, who is headed to the Nittany Lions as a preferred walk-on.

A signing day surprise comes from Neptune wide receiver Keith Kirkwood who verbally committed to the University of Hawaii and in a last-minute change has decided to stay home and accept a scholarship from Rutgers.  He’ll be joined there by Red Bank Catholic’s Josh Klecko, the son of former Jets great Joe Klecko.

Other Division-1 recruits expected to sign today are St. John Vianney receiver Ishmael Hyman (Kansas), Rumson linebacker Travis Clark (Villanova) and Manalanpan wide receiver Anthony Firksker who is headed to Harvard where he’ll play both football and basketball.

The good news is people are moving back to places like Seaside Park, Seaside Heights and Lavallette and businesses are re-opening.  Klee’s Bar & Grill in Seaside Heights has been open since right after Christmas, Hemmingway’s was back in business last weekend and the Bamboo Bar is expected to open next weekend.

That will all help bring people back to Seaside and help other businesses as well while giving locals options without having to drive over the bridge.

I stopped in yesterday to The Crabs Claw Inn and happy to report that owners Sam & Louise Hammer will re-open the landmark Lavallette restaurant next Friday (February 1^st).  Works crews and staff have done an amazing job in making repairs and improvements after Sandy and offered praise for Lavallette officials, who have gone out of their way to help the business community get back on their feet, which is the way it should be.

However to get to Lavallette I had to drive through Ortley Beach and what you see there is still heartbreaking and gut wrenching.  Sure it’s better than it was but that’s not saying much and clearly this section of Toms River Township has a very long way to go.

What is disturbing is the amount of garbage and debris still piled-up outside businesses on Route 35 north and it’s an eyesore and nasty reminder that needs to be removed as soon as possible.  Like many individuals are finding out, issues involving FEMA, homeowners and flood insurance are still bogging down too many recovery efforts.

A couple of quick hitters:

Nice touch by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to visit a Salvation Army relief center in Ortley Beach yesterday in advance of the Phillies Winter Tour stop in Lakewood.

Congratulations to coach Ron Laycock and the Toms River South wrestling team for earning a share of the Class A South title for the first time in more than 30 years.  The Indians pinned Brick last night while perennial power Brick Memorial decked Southern which leaves South and Memorial as co-champions of what has to be the best wrestling division in the state.

An altercation between two people at Lone Star College in Houston, Texas that escalated into gunfire left 4 people hospitalized and several area schools on lockdown.

Major Armando Tello of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office at a press conference said 3 unidentified people including the two involved in the altercation were wounded and hospitalized.  They have not yet been charged.

Mark Zaragosa said he had just come out of an EMT class when he saw two people who were injured and stopped to help them. Officers had not yet arrived, he said.

“The two people that I took care of had just minor injuries,” Mark Zaragosa told KHOU TV. “One gentleman had a gunshot to the knee and the (other) actually had an entry wound to the lower buttocks area.”

A maintenance worker in his mid-50′s  was injured and caught in the crossfire and injured in the leg.  A female student suffered a medical incident during the incident. “We don’t know exactly if she had a heart attack or a stroke,” Harris County sheriff’s spokeswoman Christina Garza told CNN.

Tello had no comment on reports the shooting was gang related.

A “Safe Campus”

School Chancellor Dr. Richard Carpenter noted this is the first campus shooting and that class will be held on Wednesday as scheduled. “This campus has been safe for 40 years,” he told reporters. He said the campus is gun free but staff cannot check everyone on campus for weapons.

Relatives identified Jody Neal, 24, as one of the people who was shot and said he was taken to Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital Emergency Center with gunshots in his arm, stomach and leg.

“He was sitting in the study room. There (were) three people on the computer and a guy walked up the stairs and opened fire on him,” Stacy Neal, Jody’s sister, told KPRC-TV. “They said it was just one guy that came in with a gun.”

“Situation” Led To Gunfire

The school said  the shooting started as a “situation” between two students that led to gunfire in a courtyard area between the library and cafeteria areas according to Carpenter.

A witness told CNN he heard a gunman say, “I don’t want to fight you; I’m not trying to go to jail.” She said he “actually turned away from the situation” at first but eventually pulled a gun out of a backpack. She said she heard about nine shots.

KTRK TV reported a second gunman ran off campus after the shooting towards the woods near George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Lone Star student Daniel Flores, 19, said he was in a tutoring lab on the second floor doing homework when he heard what he heard six to seven shots.

“I didn’t think they were shots,” he said. “It sounded like someone was kicking a door.”

About 60 people were in the lab, and they began running out of the room once they realized the sound was gunfire, he said. They fled to a nearby student services center, where authorities kept them there for about 30 minutes before letting them go.

The school in north Harris County posted a shelter-in-place order on the school web site, early in the afternoon urging students, faculty and staff to take shelter where they are. Nearby Aldine ISD has four campuses near Lone Star on lockdown. Dunn Elementary, Parker Intermediate and Nimitz 9th grade campus and Nimitz HS campus were on lockdown according to KTRK TV. Buses have arrived to take students home.

The Lone Star College is a 2-year public community college in Houston comprised of six college campuses. It’s primarily a commuter-campus with about 75,600 total undergraduates, according to CollegeBoard.org.

This is a breaking story. Check back for more updates.

View Larger Map

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Source: Lone Star College Shooting In Houston, TX [VIDEO]

Wunder Wiener owner/proprietor Gerry Lacrosse says it was his dream to open the hotdog stand since he was a little boy.  He says he was able to maneuver a buy-out package from his former employer AT&T which he used to purchase the hut.  He says he was able to locate in front of the Beachwood Mall following a handshake agreement with former owner Jimmy Johnson.  Lacrosse says Johnson only wanted to know if the hotdogs were good. So, he cooked him up some.

Jimmy Johnson’s daughter, Priscilla Oughton, who lives in Florida, now owns the property and has been in the hot seat with Berkeley Township over the site’s condition that has only worsened following the super storm. The township also wants to revitalize the area where the mall sits by establishing a “smart” community making it pedestrian friendly with housing, retail and eating establishments within walking distance.

Oughton is allowing Lacrosse to continue operating his business in the same location by only fencing in the mall and leaving a narrow parking area for the Wunder Wiener and its customers.  However, Lacrosse says his customer base was reduced by half after the fence was erected.  However, while at the site there was a steady stream of loyal customers coming to the hut, many of whom patronized the Wunder Wiener for almost as long as it’s been open.

Lacrosse says he understands the town’s position and the need for the mall to be demolished.  He says he’s hoping the owner will allow him to stay at the site while the demolition work is being done but he says there are concerns about liability.  “This might be our swan song.  I hope it isn’t but it may be.”

A New Jersey Transit bus and a car have been involved in an accident in Plumsted.

Many fire and rescue crews responded to the scene on Route 528 at Hawkins Road around 3:30 PM according to the Monmouth County Police, Fire & EMS page.

A witness who passed by the accident scene shortly afterwards says it looks like a white vehicle ran into the back of the bus, which drove off the road and onto the property of a historic home that is being restored. No one lives in the home.

Several people were removed from the bus by stretcher.

The bus is believed to be NJ Transit’s #317 bus which travels from Philadelphia to Asbury Park with stops in Camden, Cherry Hill, Moorestown, Mt. Laurel (Burlington County College), Mt. Holly, Pemberton (Burlington County College), Browns Mills, Fort Dix, Wrightstown, McGuire AFB, Cookstown, New Egypt, Cassville, Lakewood, Brick, Point Pleasant Beach and  Belmar ending in Asbury Park (Asbury Park Transportation Center).

View Bus Accident In Plumsted in a larger map

Source: NJ Transit Bus Accident In Plumsted

A year of fundraising and hours of practice paid off for the Jackson Memorial High School Marching Jaguars with their appearance in the Tournament of Roses of Parade in Pasedena, California.

The parade capped off a whirlwind of activity on the trip that began on Friday and included performances at Disneyland and Bandfest at Pasadena City College.

The band’s busy January isn’t done yet; they will be marching in President Obama’s inaugural parade on January 21 in Washington DC.

Source: Jackson Marching Jaguars March In Tournament Of Roses Parade [VIDEO]

More funerals for the victims of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut are planned for today as the Sandy Hook Elementary School looks to starting classes again after the holidays.

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The first of today’s funerals was for 7-year-old Daniel Barden. He was the youngest of three children, and his family says he was “always smiling” and “unfailingly polite.”

Hundreds of firefighters formed a long blue line outside a Catholic church. Daniel wanted to join their ranks one day. Some firefighters came from New York, where his family has relatives who are firefighters.

In the town of Stratford, meanwhile, family members and friends gathered to say goodbye to Victoria Soto. The 27-year-old teacher has been hailed as a hero for dying while trying to shield her students, some of whom managed to escape.

FAREWELL TO A HEROIC TEACHER

A longtime friend says Soto “loved her job” and always described her students as “good kids.”

Today marks the first funeral for one of the adult victims. A wake and service takes place for 52-year-old Anne Marie Murphy in her native Katonah, New York.

The funeral home says she is survived by four children, her husband, her parents and six brothers and sisters.

At a wake Tuesday for 27-year-old first-grade teacher Victoria Soto, hundreds of mourners, many wearing ribbons in the school colors of green and white, stood in a line that wrapped around a funeral home in nearby Stratford. Soto has been hailed as a hero for dying while trying to shield her students, some of whom managed to escape.

“Big smile, great eyes, just a wonderful person,” Lauren Ostrofsky said. “If anyone could be an example of what a person should be today, it’s her.”

Soto, Barden & Murphy’s funerals are scheduled for today along with Caroline Previdi and Charlotte Bacon.

REMEMBERING HIS FORMER JOB

Providence College honored Sandy Hook Elementary last night by wearing special green jerseys from Nike with “Sandy Hook” across each player’s number. Providence coach Ed Cooley, who coached at nearby Fairfield, said “I wanted to do something to honor those victims.It made me feel really, really special that that was able to happen.”

Sandy Hook has selected a successor to principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was gunned down trying to stop Adam Lanza’s shooting spree inside the school. WVIT TV reports former Sandy Hook principal Donna Page will take over when students begin classes after the Christmas break at the Chalk Hill School in neighboring Monroe, Connecticut.

Source: More Funerals Today For Newtown, Connecticut Shooting Victims [VIDEO]

Newtown, Connecticut tries to return to familiar routines as school resumes for most in a town shattered by the murder of 27 people inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School and two more young victims are laid to rest.

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A 6-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl were laid to rest Tuesday, the latest in a long, almost unbearable procession of funerals.

Buses ferrying students to schools were festooned with large green-and-white ribbons on the front grills, the colors of Sandy Hook, as classes resumed for all Newtown schools except the stricken elementary school.

At Newtown High School, students in sweat shirts and jackets, many wearing headphones, betrayed mixed emotions. Some waved at or snapped photos of the assembled media horde, and others appeared visibly shaken.

“There’s going to be no joy in school,” said 17-year-old senior P.J. Hickey. “It really doesn’t feel like Christmas anymore.”

At St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, back-to-back funerals were held for first-graders James Mattioli and Jessica Rekos, the first of eight to be held in the coming days at the church.

As mourners gathered outside, a motorcade led by police motorcycles arrived for the funeral of little James, who especially loved recess and math, and whose family described as a “numbers guy” who couldn’t wait until he was old enough to order a foot-long Subway sandwich.

The service had not yet concluded when mourners began arriving for the funeral of Jessica, who loved horses and was counting the years until she turned 10, when her family had promised her a horse of her own. For Christmas, she had asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and hat.

“We are devastated, and our hearts are with the other families who are grieving as we are,” her parents, Rich and Krista Rekos, said in a statement.

With the exception of the school that was the shooting site, students in the Newtown district are returning to classes on Tuesday.

BACK IN CLASS

At Newtown High School, students in sweatshirts and jackets, many wearing headphones, waved at or snapped photos of the assembled media horde on their way into the building. Reuniting with friends and getting back to school were welcome tasks, said one sophomore.

“It’s definitely better than just sitting at home watching the news,” said Tate Schwab, 15.

At home, his family, who moved to Newtown just last year, was distraught over the news. His mother cried over his 3-year-old sister, who would have eventually attended Sandy Hook, he said.

Dan Capodicci, whose 10-year-old daughter attends the school at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, said he thinks it’s time for her to get back to classes.

“It’s the right thing to do. You have to send your kids back. But at the same time I’m worried,” he said. “We need to get back to normal.”

Gina Wolfman said her daughters are going back to their seventh- and ninth-grade classrooms tomorrow. She thinks they are ready to be back with their friends.

“I think they want to be back with everyone and share,” she said.

The district is readying a former middle school for students who attended Sandy Hook Elementary and survived the shooting there.

Local police and school officials have been discussing how and where to increase security, and state police said they would be on alert for threats and hoaxes.

Six-year-old Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto were laid to rest Monday. More funerals are planned Tuesday and this week.

NBC’s The Voice paid tribute to the victims of gunman Adam Lanza with a performance of Hallellujah by host Carson Daly, hostess Christina Milan,  judges Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera plus several singers voted off Season 3. The group  held cards with the names of the fallen according to USA Today.

The Jets remembered the fallen in Newtown by wearing a “SHES” decal on their helmets in Nashville for a game against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. Both teams observed a moment of silence before the game. Titans running back Chris Johnson wrote the names of all 26 victims on his sneakers worn during the game.

NRA Goes Silent

As grief turns to discussion about guns, the National Rifle Association, the nation’s largest gun-rights group, has gone eerily silent.

Its Facebook page has disappeared. It has not sent a message on Twitter since the extent of the carnage became clear. And no leaders of the 4.3 million-member organization appeared on the talk shows this past Sunday, two days after the shooting.

During past crises, the politically powerful group has defended gun owners’ constitutional right to bear arms.

One Republican strategist says the NRA’s approach is probably wise given the emotions involved. The organization has gone quiet after past tragedies.

Source: 2 More Victims Buried In Newtown, Connecticut [VIDEO]

As the first two two funerals for victims of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut  are done, a moment of silence has been requested to mark the one-week anniversary of the tragedy as police continue their investigation and new informaton about the case is revealed[button href="http://nj1015.com/tags/ct-school-shooting/" title="FULL COVERAGE: Connecticut School Shooting" align="center"]

Connecticut’s governor is calling for a moment of silence and churches to ring bells exactly one week after the shooting at an elementary school.

Malloy is asking churches ring their bells 26 times to honor the victims.

The first funerals were planned Monday for Jack Pinto, a 6-year-old  Giants fan who might be buried in wide receiver Victor Cruz’s jersey, and Noah Pozner, a boy of the same age who liked to figure out how things worked mechanically.

In front of the funeral home where relatives mourned Noah, well-wishers placed two teddy bears, a bouquet of white flowers and a single red rose at the base of an old maple tree.

“He was just a really lively, smart kid,” said Noah’s uncle Alexis Haller, of Woodinville, Wash. “He would have become a great man, I think. He would have grown up to be a great dad.”

State Police today said the investigation will take a long time to complete reports CNN. The niews channel also reports investigators have also removed a computer hard drive from the Lanza home in hopes of reading Adam’s email and seeing what websites he browsed. The condition of the computers and how many were taken was not revealed.

Newly public divorce paperwork shows that the mother of Connecticut school shooter Adam Lanza had the authority to make all decisions regarding his upbringing.

The court papers were made public Monday.

The divorce was finalized in September 2009, when Adam Lanza was 17.

Paul Steinmetz, spokesman for Western Connecticut State University in Danbury confirmed Monday that Adam Lanza earned a 3.26 grade point average while a student there at the age of 16.  He dropped out of a German language class and withdrew from a computer science class, but earned an A in a computer class, A-minus in American history and B in macroeconomics.

Steinmetz says Lanza was among a small group of 16-year-olds among the school’s 5,000 undergraduates.

Steinmetz says Lanza took his last class in the summer of 2009 and didn’t return.

DIVORCE DETAILS

His parents married in June 1981 in Kingston, N.H. The file says their marriage broke down “irretrievably” and that there was no possibility of getting back together.

The divorce agreement gave Nancy Lanza $265,000 in alimony last year. It makes no mention of any mental health issues regarding Adam Lanza.

The nurse at Sandy Hook Elementary School says she and the school secretary stayed hidden in a supply closet for almost four hours after the shooting ended

Sally Cox told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she knew “something terrible was happening” when she heard loud popping sounds and the school secretary called out to her. She says she and the secretary called 911 and hid in the closet — not knowing how many shooters there might be.

NEW SCHOOL, OLD MEMORIES

School officials are preparing the former Chalk Hill Middle School in nearby Monroe to be used by Sandy Hook students beginning Wednesday according to USA Today although no date for classes to resume has been set.

The two-story building sits along a winding, wooded road next to a new middle school and an elementary school.

James Agostine, the schools superintendent in Monroe, issued a statement saying: “It is important that the Sandy Hook students get back to school quickly in an environment that is familiar and safe.”

Newtown police Lt. George Sinko said he “would find it very difficult” for students to return to the same school where they came so close to death. But, he added, “We want to keep these kids together. They need to support each other.”

MOST DIFFICULT DAY OF PRESIDENCY

President Barack Obama is vowing to use “whatever power this office holds” to safeguard the nation’s children, raising the prospect that he will pursue policy changes to stem gun violence following Friday’s elementary school massacre. Obama offered few specifics during his remarks at a vigil in Newtown last night.

He says he will engage with law enforcement, mental health professionals, parents and educators in the coming weeks. Obama told Connecticut’s governor that Friday was the most difficult day of his presidency.

THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

Federal agents have concluded that suspect Adam Lanza visited an area shooting range, but they do not know whether he actually practiced shooting there. Ginger Colbrun, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, would not identify the range or say how recently he was there.

Agents determined Lanza’s mother visited shooting ranges several times, but it’s not clear whether she took her son or whether he fired a weapon there, Colbrun said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators are reviewing the contents of Lanza’s computer, as well as phone and credit card records, in an effort to piece together his activities leading up to the shooting. The official was not authorized to discuss the details of the case.

Investigators have offered no motive, and police have found no letters or diaries that could shed light on it. They believe Lanza attended Sandy Hook many years ago, but they couldn’t explain why he went there Friday. Authorities said Lanza had no criminal history, and it was not clear whether he had a job.

“LOTS OF AMMO…LOTS OF CLIPS”

Lanza is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle in the school attack, a civilian version of the military’s M-16 and a model commonly seen at marksmanship competitions. It’s similar to the weapon used in a recent shopping mall shooting in Oregon.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said the shooter decided to kill himself when he heard police closing in about 10 minutes into the attack.

“We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and apparently at that decided to take his own life,” Malloy said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Police said they found hundreds of unused bullets at the school, which enrolled about 450 students in kindergarten through fourth grade.

“There was a lot of ammo, a lot of clips,” said state police Lt. Paul Vance. “Certainly a lot of lives were potentially saved.”

The chief medical examiner has said the ammunition was a type designed to expend its energy in the victim’s tissues and stay inside the body to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

Source: The Healing Process Begins In Connecticut [VIDEO]

A grief-stricken Newtown began laying to rest the littlest victims of the school massacre, starting with two 6-year-old boys — one of them a big football fan, the other described as a whip-smart youngster whose twin sister survived the rampage.

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Family, friends and townspeople streamed to two funeral homes to say goodbye to Jack Pinto, who loved the Giants and idolized their star wide receiver Victor Cruz, and Noah Pozner, who liked to figure out how things worked mechanically.

In front of the funeral home where relatives mourned Noah, well-wishers placed two teddy bears, a bouquet of white flowers and a single red rose at the base of an old maple tree.

“He was just a really lively, smart kid,” said Noah’s uncle Alexis Haller, of Woodinville, Wash. “He would have become a great man, I think. He would have grown up to be a great dad.”

A fir tree opposite the funeral home was strung with paper angels carrying the names of everyone who died, including the teachers.

In keeping with Jewish tradition, the boy was laid to rest in a simple brown wooden casket adorned with a Star of David. His uncle described him as a smart, funny and mischievous child who loved animals and Mario Brothers video games, and liked to tease his sisters by telling them he worked in a taco factory.

“It is unspeakably tragic that none of us can bring Noah back,” Haller said. “We would go to the ends of the earth to do so, but none of us can. What we can do is carry Noah within us, always. We can remember the joy he brought to us. We can hold his memory close to our hearts. We can treasure him forever.”

Noah’s twin sister, Arielle, who was assigned to a different classroom, survived the killing frenzy by 20-year-old Adam Lanza that left 20 children and six adults dead last week at Sandy Hook Elementary in an attack so horrifying that authorities could not say whether the school would ever reopen.

“You’re secure now. The worst is over”

At Jack’s service, hymns rang out from inside the funeral home. A mourner, Gwendolyn Glover, said that Jack was in an open casket and that the service was a message of comfort and protection, particularly for other children.

“The message was: You’re secure now. The worst is over,” she said.

 

The funeral program bore a quote from the Book of Revelation: “God shall wipe away all tears. There shall be no more death. Neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.”

At both funeral homes, people wrestled with the same questions as the rest of the country — what steps could and should be taken to prevent anything like the massacre from happening again.

“If people want to go hunting, a single-shot rifle does the job, and that does the job to protect your home, too. If you need more than that, I don’t know what to say,” Ray DiStephan said outside Noah’s funeral.

He added: “I don’t want to see my kids go to schools that become maximum-security fortresses. That’s not the world I want to live in, and that’s not the world I want to raise them in.”

With more funerals planned this week, the road ahead for Newtown, which had already started purging itself of Christmas decorations in a joyful season turned mournful, was clouded.

“I feel like we have to get back to normal, but I don’t know if there is normal anymore,” said Kim Camputo, mother of two children, 5 and 10, who attend a different school. “I’ll definitely be dropping them off and picking them up myself for a while.”

With Sandy Creek Elementary still designated a crime scene, State police Lt. Paul Vance said that it could be months before police turn the school back over to the district. The people of Newtown, consumed by loss, were not ready to address its future.

“We’re just now getting ready to talk to our son about who was killed,” said Robert Licata, the father of a student who escaped harm during the shooting. “He’s not even there yet.”

 A message read at the funeral of 6-year-old Noah Pozner by his uncle Alexis Haller, of Woodinville, Wash.:

On Friday, Dec. 14, we tragically lost a most beloved member of our family. Noah was a 6-year-old little boy, and he was so dear to all of our hearts.

Words cannot express the unfathomable loss we feel.

Noah was a wonderful son and a loving brother. He was kind, caring, smart, funny, and sometimes even a little mischievous. He liked to tell his sisters that he worked in a taco factory; when they asked him how he got to work, he would give them a funny look as if to say he knew something that they didn’t.

Noah was a little kid. He loved animals, video games and Mario Brothers. He was already a very good reader, and had just bought a Ninjago book at a book fair that he was really excited about reading. He was also very excited about going to a birthday party he had been invited to. It was to take place on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Noah loved his family dearly, especially his mom, his dad, his big sisters Danielle and Sophia, his big brother Michael, and his dear twin Arielle. He called Arielle his best friend, and she was — and always had been.

If Noah had not been taken from us, he would have become a great man. He would been a wonderful husband and a loving father. He would have been a backbone of our family for years to come. His loss, and our loss, are deep indeed.

It is unspeakably tragic that none of us can bring Noah back. We would go to the ends of the Earth to do so, but none of us can.

What we can do is carry Noah within us, always. We can remember the joy he brought to us. We can hold his memory close to our hearts. We can treasure him forever. And all of us, including the family, the community, the country and the world, can honor Noah by loving each other and taking care of each other. That’s what Noah would have wanted.

Noah, we love you so much, we miss you dearly, and we will never, ever forget you.

 

Source: Newtown Holds The First Funerals [VIDEO]

New details are emerging about the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut as the community and the nation spend another day grieving for the victims of Friday’s shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 27 dead including 20 children.

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Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy revealed on ABC’s This Week this morning that gunman Adam Lanza committed suicide as first responders closed in, raising the specter that Adam Lanza had planned an even more gruesome massacre and was stopped short.
“We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and apparently at that, decided to take his own life,” Malloy said.

Malloy offered no possible motive for the shooting and a law enforcement official has said police have found no letters or diaries left behind that could shed light on it

Meanwhile, authorities say the Lanza shot his mother multiple times in the head

A funeral for shooting victims, 6-year-old Noah Pozner, is being planned for Monday. Pozner’s uncle, Alexis Haller, says the funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Abraham L. Green & Son Funeral Home in Fairfield, Conn.

STAYING TOGETHER

Authorities are trying to determine whether students who survived the Connecticut elementary school rampage will be able to return to classes.

Newtown police Lt. George Sinko said at a news conference Sunday that school officials will determine what happens but that he thinks it will be very difficult for the children to return to Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown.But he says authorities want to keep the children together because the survivors “need to support each other.”

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NBC’s Saturday Night Live opened the program with a performance by members of the New York City Children’s Chorus of Silent Night and then shouting out “Live  from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night!’” It was the show’s only reference to the shooting.

The Rolling Stones  took a moment to acknowledge the deaths on stage during their concert at the Prudential Center in Newark on Saturday night. “We just wanted to send our love and condolences to all the people who lost loved ones in the tragedy in Connecticut,” Jagger early on in the concert as the audience applauded. Jagger noted the entire world was feeling the pain of the stunned nation.

“S.H.E.S”

The Giants today in Atlanta and the New England Patriots tonight in their home game against Seattle in Foxborough, Massachusetts will honor the victims of the shooting today. The Giants will display “S.H.E.S” for  “Sandy Hook Elementary School” as will the Jets tomorrow night in Nashville when they play Tennessee.

The Patriots will light flares for each of the 26 people killed at the school.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people impacted by that tragedy,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said Saturday. “It’s, wow, it’s amazing. … Just a horrific deal that happened there.”

Newtown is located in Connecticut’s Fairfield County and while just 60 miles north of New York and many sports loyalties are divided between New York and Boston teams.

A VISIT FROM THE PRESIDENT

President Obama will travel to Newtown on Sunday night for a memorial service. Obama will visit privately with the victims’ families and with emergency personnel who responded to the shootings before speaking at an interfaith vigil at Newtown High School.

Federal agents today plan to fan out to gun stores and shooting ranges across Connecticut seeking clues to the life of gunman Adam Lanza.

Ginger Colbrun, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said earlier there was no evidence Lanza was involved in gun clubs or had trained for the shooting. When reached later in the day and asked whether that was still true, she said, “We’re following any and all leads related to this individual and firearms.”

Dean Price, director of the Wooster Mountain State Range — a shooting range in Danbury — said two ATF agents visited the range Friday night and stayed into the early morning looking through thousands of names on sign-in logs.

He said that he had never seen Adam or Nancy Lanza there and that agents told him they did not find their names on the sign-in sheets.

“I DON’T KNOW”

On Saturday, overflow crowds packed St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. The Rev. Richard Scinto, a deacon, gave a homily.

“In the past 48 hours I’ve said the phrase ‘I don’t know’ about 1,000 times,” he said. “That not knowing has got to be the worst part of this whole thing.”

At St. John’s Episcopal Church, 54-year-old Donna Denner, an art teacher at an elementary school in nearby Danbury whose classroom was locked down after the shooting, said she feels the same way she did after 9/11 but isn’t sure the rest of the country does.

“I don’t know if the rest of the country is struggling to understand it the same way we are here,” she said. “Life goes on, but you’re not the same. Is the rest of the country — are they going about their regular activities? Is it just another news story to them?”

STORIES OF HEROISM

Stories of heroism are emerging from the shooting.

School psychologist Mary Sherlach and principal Dawn Hochsprung ran toward gunman Adam Lanza after he broke through the school door. Officials say Hochsprung died while lunging at the gunman. Sherlach also died.

The South Jersey Times reports Sherlach was a year away from retirement and had family in Gloucester County. Sherlach’s daughter, Maura Schwartz is choir director at t Salem High School and lives in Deptford.

Another worker turned on the school intercom, alerting others in the building. A custodian ran through the halls warning of danger. A clerk led 18 children on their hands and knees to safety in a storage room with a lock.

And a cousin of teacher Victoria Soto tells ABC News that 27-year-old died trying to shield children from bullets.

Source: New Details Emerge On Another Day Of Grief For Connecticut [VIDEO]

The Empire State Building was lit up in blue & gold on Saturday night in honor of the victims of Friday’s school shooting in Connecticut.

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The names of all the victims of 20 year old Adam Lanza were released by Connecticut state police medical examiner H. Wayne Carver II. late Saturday afternoon, all first graders.

“I’ve been at this for a third of a century and  my sensibility may not be the average man’s, but this is probably the worst I’ve seen,” said Carver.

President Obama will travel to Newtown on Sunday night for a memorial service.

The father of the gunman in the Connecticut school rampage says his family is saddened and struggling to make sense of what happened.

Peter Lanza says in a statement released late Saturday that “our family is grieving along  with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy.”

Peter Lanza says “no words can truly express how heartbroken we are” and that relatives are “in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can.”

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance still need to “peel the onion” of the crime scene both inside and outside the Sandy Hook Elementary School, a process which could take several more days.

EVIDENCE OF A MOTIVE

Vance said investigators have found “very good evidence” about a motive and confirmed that gunman Adam Lanza forced his way into the school. Another law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that investigators have found no note or manifesto of the sort they have come to expect after murderous rampages.

Lanza had Asperger’s syndrome, but experts say there’s no connection between the disorder and violent behavior. Asperger’s is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

Columbus, Ohio, psychologist Eric Butter says research suggests people with autism have a higher rate of aggressive behavior than the general population. He says this includes outbursts, shoving or angry shouting, but typically does not include planned, intentional violence.

High school classmates say Lanza was bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Butter says those characteristics are consistent with Asperger’s.

Police worked through the night to identify all the bodies inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN TODAY

President Obama used his weekly internet address to offer more condolences about the shooting. “Our hearts are broken today,” the president said. “We grieve for the families of those we lost. And we keep in our prayers the parents of those who survived. Because as blessed as they are to have their children home, they know that their child’s innocence has been torn away far too early.”

Pope Benedict XVI expressed “his heartfelt grief and the assurance of his closeness in prayer to the victims and their families and all to affected” by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, in a letter to the Diocese of Bridgeport Administrator Monsignor Jerald A. Doyle reports CNN.

A DAY OF DESTRUCTION

Police say two handguns were found inside the school and a rifle in the back of a car. Authorities also recovered two rifles and a shotgun, but it’s not clear where. A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the guns may have belonged to Adam Lanza’s family.

Police sources say Lanza brought Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, and a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle were found in the school after the massacre Friday.

The official says that a fourth weapon was found outside the school and that investigators have been going to shooting ranges and gun stores to see if Lanza had frequented them.

His mother had legally registered four weapons, his father two.

Adam Lanza’s rampage is said to have started at his Newtown home where he lived with his mother. He is believed to have shot his mother Nancy in the face before heading to the Sandy Hook Elementary School where his mother was a substitute teacher.

Adam Lanza smashed the glass of the front door according to a police lieutenant and was not buzzed in through the front door.

The school’s  well-liked principal, Dawn Hochsprung, was believed to be among the dead.. Town officials said she died while lunging at the gunman in an attempt to overtake him. A woman who worked at the school was wounded.

Jeff Capeci is chairman of the town’s Legislative Council. Asked whether Hochsprung is a hero, he says, “From what we know, it’s hard to classify her as anything else.”

Hochsprung had worked at the school for two years. Capeci says she immediately became a beloved figure. “It’s so sad to lose somebody like her” and that residents are feeling “a deep sense of loss” over her death.

A MESSAGE UNANSWERED

Marsha Lanza, of Crystal Lake, Ill., said she was close with Adam Lanza’s mother and sent her a message on Facebook on Friday morning asking how she was doing. Nancy Lanza never responded.

Marsha Lanza described Nancy Lanza as a good mother and kind-hearted.

If her son had needed counseling, “Nancy wasn’t one to deny reality,” she told The Associated Press late Friday.

Marsha Lanza said her husband saw Adam as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary about him.

Lanza’s parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records. His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Conn., and works as a tax director for General Electric.

HOPE AND COMFORT

Hundreds of people stood outside Friday night at the St. Rose of Lima church in Newtown, some of them holding hands in circles and saying prayers. Others lit candles and sang “Silent Night.”

“Many of us today and in the coming days will rely on what we have been taught and what we believe, that there is faith for a reason,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said at the vigil Mass.

Even though there were 26 candles on the altar, Monsignor Robert Weiss said it was important to remember everyone who died, including Lanza and his mother.

“Ours is not to judge or to question,” he told reporters after the service. “But we are really holding in our hearts especially the children and the staff of the school.”

“These 20 children were just beautiful, beautiful children,” Weiss said. “These 20 children lit up this community better than all these Christmas lights we have. … There are a lot brighter stars up there tonight because of these kids.”

Weiss said he spent much of the day trying to console those who had lost a child or other family member, adding that he had no answers for their questions of how something so horrible could happen.

But through their sorrow, some parents found solace in remembering their loved ones, he said. One father whose son was killed recalled how his boy had made his first soccer goal this year.

Source: CT Shooting Victims Honored By Empire State Building Lights [VIDEO]

Twenty-six candles — one for each of the victims — flickered on the altar Friday as hundreds of grief-stricken residents gathered for a vigil in memory of the children and staff killed in a shooting rampage at a school in this Connecticut town.

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With the church filled to capacity, hundreds spilled outside, holding hands in circles in the cold night air and saying prayers. Others sang “Silent Night” or huddled near the windows of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic church.

“Many of us today and in the coming days will rely on what we have been taught and what we believe, that there is faith for a reason,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said at the vigil Mass.

The residents were gathered to mourn those whose lives were lost when a 20-year-old man killed his mother at their home, then descended on Sandy Hook Elementary School, opening fire as youngsters cowered in fear amid the sounds of gunshots and screams. Twenty children were among the 26 dead at the school.

The shooter, Adam Lanza, armed with at least two handguns, committed suicide, authorities said.

Even though there were 26 candles on the altar, Monsignor Robert Weiss said it was important to remember everyone who died, including Lanza and his mother.

“Ours is not to judge or to question,” he told reporters after the service. “But we are really holding in our hearts especially the children and the staff of the school.”

“These 20 children were just beautiful, beautiful children,” Weiss said. “These 20 children lit up this community better than all these Christmas lights we have. … There are a lot brighter stars up there tonight because of these kids.”

Weiss said he spent much of the day trying to console those who had lost a child or other family member, adding that he had no answers for their questions of how something so horrible could happen.

But through their sorrow, some parents found solace in remembering their loved ones, he said. One father whose son was killed recalled how his boy had made his first soccer goal this year.

Some parents said they struggled with mixed emotions after their own children survived the massacre that took so many young lives.

After receiving word of the shooting, Tracy Hoekenga said she was paralyzed with fear for her two boys, fourth-grader C.J. and second-grader Matthew.

“I couldn’t breathe. It’s indescribable. For a half an hour, 45 minutes, I had no idea if my kids were OK,” she said.

Matthew said a teacher ordered him and other students to their cubbies, and a police officer came and told them to line up and close their eyes.

“They said there could be bad stuff. So we closed our eyes and we went out. When we opened our eyes, we saw a lot of broken glass and blood on the ground,” he said.

David Connors, whose triplets attend the school, said his children were told to hide in a closet during the lockdown.

“My son said he did hear some gunshots, as many as 10,” he said. “The questions are starting to come out: ‘Are we safe? Is the bad guy gone?’”

At the vigil, Newtown High School freshman Claudia Morris, 14, said students had gathered in the school hallways after the massacre, asking each other, “Are you all right? Are you all right?”

“No one has answers to why this happened,” she said. “It just seems so unreal.”

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)

Source: Vigil Remembers Victims Of CT School Shooting. [VIDEO]