‘Not knowing is the worst part’ for town overwhelmed by grief

aS the police investigation churned through the harrowing detail of Friday’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the residents of Newtown turned to one another for solace in their time of grief.

The tragedy has plunged Newtown into mourning and added the picturesque New England community of 27,000 people to the grim map of towns where mass shootings in recent years have periodically reignited the national debate over gun control but led to little change.

There has been little comfort to be found in the question of “why”, as police uncover little evidence to reveal the motive that led Adam Lanza to kill so many.

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Following vigils on Saturday, as the town began to come to terms with the scale of the tragedy, Churches yesterday threw open their doors even as staff prepared to hold funerals this week for the 27 people he shot dead.

Overflow crowds packed St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, where Lanza and his mother Nancy are understood to have worshipped.

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 the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but isn’t sure the rest of the country does.

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“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?”

Prayers were also said in Rome, where Pope Benedict XVI voiced his sorrow and offered sympathy to the families. “May the God of consolation touch their hearts and ease their pain,” he added.

The terrible details about the last moments of young innocents emerged as authorities released their names and ages – the youngest aged six and seven, the oldest 56.

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They included Ana Marquez-Greene, a little girl who had just moved to Newtown from Canada; British boy Dylan Hockley, whose family moved to the US last year, and teachers killed as they tried to protect their young charges.

Hardened law enforcement officials described it as unprecendented in their careers.

Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, Dr H Wayne Carver, told a Press conference all the children killed were shot more than once, with the ones he examined personally shot between three and 11 times.

“I have been at this more than a third of a century... this probably is the worst I have seen, or the worst I know any of my colleagues have seen.”

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Grieving father Robbie Parker spoke to reporters not long after police released the names of the victims but expressed no animosity, instead offering sympathy for Lanza’s family. “I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you,” he said.

The father of six-year-old victim Emilie Parker, described her as an “exceptional artist” who was “bright, creative and very loving”.

Fighting back tears, he said: “My daughter Emilie would have been one of the first ones to be standing and giving her love and support to all those victims, because that’s the type of person she is.

“As the deep pain begins to settle into our hearts, we find comfort reflecting on the incredible person Emilie was and how many lives she was able to touch in her short time here on earth.

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“Emilie’s laughter was infectious and all those who had the pleasure to meet her would agree that this world is a better place because she has been in it.”

He said his thoughts and prayers go out to relatives of the other victims, including the family of the gunman.

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