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PrintEmailMore sharingIn school shootings, patterns and warning signsBy Katherine Newman, Special to CNNDecember 17, 2012 -- Updated 1635 GMT (0035 HKT)if (typeof cnnArticleGallery=="undefined"){var cnnArticleGallery={};if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=[];}}var expGalleryPT00=new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGalleryPT00.setImageCount(72);expGalleryPT00.setAdsRefreshCount(3);//cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("Reaction to Newtown school killings", 1);.cnn_html_slideshow_metadata > .cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:'>>';font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:#004276;outline:medium none}.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
Children light candles to pay their respects to the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting at the main square in Tirana, Albania, on Monday, December 17. The deadly gun rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School has provoked strong reactions from around the world.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":true,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":1,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Protesters march on the National Rifle Association's Capitol Hill lobbyist offices in Washington on December 17.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks out for stronger gun control at a press conference at City Hall on December 17. Bloomberg, co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was joined by victims and survivors of gun violence.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Chris Foye, whose son Chris Owens was killed by a stray bullet in 2009, stands with other survivors and family members of gun violence at Bloomberg's press conference on December 17 in New York.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People pay their respects on December 17 at a makeshift shrine in Newtown to the victims of Friday's elementary school shooting. Funerals began Monday in the Connecticut town.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange hold a moment of silence on December 17 in honor of the shooting victims.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Young people mourn at Newtown High School before a memorial service attended by President Obama on Sunday, December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School December 16 at Newtown High School.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":8,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Mourners comfort one another December 16 before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":9,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Two women embrace before the interfaith vigil at Newtown High School on Sunday evening. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":10,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}From left: Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut, residents Rachel Pullen and her son, Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on Sunday, December 16, in Newtown, Connecticut. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":11,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A young boy walks past Christmas trees set up at a makeshift shrine to the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":12,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Ty Diaz is kissed by his mother, Yvette, at a memorial down the street from Sandy Hook on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":13,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Teddy bears, flowers and candles in memory of those killed are left at a memorial down the street from the school on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":14,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Two teenagers embrace at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":15,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Nuns pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":16,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Members of Sisters of Christian Charity go to lay flowers in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16 in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":17,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A woman receives a hug as she leaves morning service December 16 at Trinity Church in Newtown near the elementary school.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":18,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Parishioners pay their respects to the victims of the elementary school shooting while attending Mass at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":19,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Police officers honor the victims of the school shooting at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church on December 16 in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":20,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}The Jacksonville Jaguars have a moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims before their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 16. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":21,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A parishioner kneels in front of a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":22,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A police officer removes flowers from a busy intersection on December 16 in Newtown. Police said they were afraid the memorial, left for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, would cause a traffic hazard. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":23,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A woman hugs her daughter on the steps of Trinity Church on December 16 in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":24,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Angel wood cutouts for each of the 27 victims are set up on hillside in Newtown on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":25,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People in Bangalore, India, hold cards and photographs of the slain at a candlelight vigil outside a Catholic church on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":26,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans shows his glove in remembrance of the victims before the start of a game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 16 in Houston. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":27,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Donna Soto, right, mother of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed while protecting her students, hugs her daughter Karly while mourning their loss at a candlelight memorial at Stratford High School on Saturday, December 15, in Stratford, Connecticut.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":28,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Firefighters kneel to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":29,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A child lights a candle at a memorial filled with flowers, stuffed toys and candles outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":30,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Candles light up a memorial outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":31,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Candles burn next to a lighted tree at a makeshift shrine in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":32,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Lucas, Kelly and Michael DaSilva pray and embrace at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":33,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People are overcome with emotion Saturday at a makeshift memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":34,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Residents arrive Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":35,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A couple carry balloons to place at a curbside shrine to in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":36,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A mother and daughter attend a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":37,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Flowers and signs of sympathy adorn the street leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":38,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Claudia Urbiana and daughter Jocelyne Cardenas, left, hug outside of the entrance to the Sandy Hook school.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":39,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A makeshift memorial with flowers, stuffed toys and candles sit outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":40,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A man bows his head as he stands at a makeshift memorial, outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":41,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}New Jersey resident Steve Wruble, who was moved to drive out to Connecticut to support local residents, grieves for victims at the entrance to Sandy Hook village in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":42,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People attend a prayer service in Newtown on Saturday to reflect.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":43,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A mother hugs her children after paying tribute to the victims in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":44,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Newtown High School student Trevor Lopez stands outside of a church where residents have come to pray and reflect on SaturdaycnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":45,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Andrea Jaeger places flowers and a candle at a makeshift memorial outside a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":46,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}The U.S. flag flies at half-staff above the White House on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":47,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Ken Kowalsky and his daughter Rebecca, 13, embrace while standing at the end of the road leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":48,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A woman puts a flower near crosses planted by Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace), in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":49,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A woman sits during a service at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, December 14.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":50,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Fans at the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown shooting on Friday in Phoenix.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":51,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}An overflow crowd listens to a church service held at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown on December 14.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":52,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":53,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather for a vigil outside the White House in Washington following the Connecticut elementary school shooting on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":54,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Candles burn as people gather for a vigil outside the White House.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":55,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Padro Segarra speaks emotionally about the students and teachers who died earlier in the day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in nearby Newtown at a candlelight vigil at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":56,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Cynthia Alvarez is comforted by her mother, Lilia, as people gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":57,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":58,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":59,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather inside the St. Rose Church to remember the shooting victims on FridaycnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":60,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}A woman bows her head during a vigil for the shooting victims at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":61,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather in the St. Rose Church for a memorial service Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":62,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Women comfort each other during the vigil at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":63,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"} A woman looks on during the vigil at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":64,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People hug outside of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Friday, near the site of the shootings at the Sandy Hook school.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":65,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Protesters march on the National Rifle Association's Capitol Hill lobbyist offices in Washington on December 17.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks out for stronger gun control at a press conference at City Hall on December 17. Bloomberg, co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was joined by victims and survivors of gun violence.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Chris Foye, whose son Chris Owens was killed by a stray bullet in 2009, stands with other survivors and family members of gun violence at Bloomberg's press conference on December 17 in New York.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People pay their respects on December 17 at a makeshift shrine in Newtown to the victims of Friday's elementary school shooting. Funerals began Monday in the Connecticut town.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange hold a moment of silence on December 17 in honor of the shooting victims.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Young people mourn at Newtown High School before a memorial service attended by President Obama on Sunday, December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School December 16 at Newtown High School.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":8,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Mourners comfort one another December 16 before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":9,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Two women embrace before the interfaith vigil at Newtown High School on Sunday evening. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":10,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
From left: Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut, residents Rachel Pullen and her son, Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on Sunday, December 16, in Newtown, Connecticut. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":11,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A young boy walks past Christmas trees set up at a makeshift shrine to the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":12,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Ty Diaz is kissed by his mother, Yvette, at a memorial down the street from Sandy Hook on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":13,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Teddy bears, flowers and candles in memory of those killed are left at a memorial down the street from the school on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":14,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Two teenagers embrace at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":15,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Nuns pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":16,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Members of Sisters of Christian Charity go to lay flowers in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16 in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":17,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A woman receives a hug as she leaves morning service December 16 at Trinity Church in Newtown near the elementary school.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":18,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Parishioners pay their respects to the victims of the elementary school shooting while attending Mass at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":19,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Police officers honor the victims of the school shooting at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church on December 16 in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":20,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims before their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 16. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":21,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A parishioner kneels in front of a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":22,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A police officer removes flowers from a busy intersection on December 16 in Newtown. Police said they were afraid the memorial, left for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, would cause a traffic hazard. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":23,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A woman hugs her daughter on the steps of Trinity Church on December 16 in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":24,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Angel wood cutouts for each of the 27 victims are set up on hillside in Newtown on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":25,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People in Bangalore, India, hold cards and photographs of the slain at a candlelight vigil outside a Catholic church on December 16.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":26,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans shows his glove in remembrance of the victims before the start of a game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 16 in Houston. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":27,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Donna Soto, right, mother of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed while protecting her students, hugs her daughter Karly while mourning their loss at a candlelight memorial at Stratford High School on Saturday, December 15, in Stratford, Connecticut.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":28,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Firefighters kneel to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":29,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A child lights a candle at a memorial filled with flowers, stuffed toys and candles outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":30,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Candles light up a memorial outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":31,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Candles burn next to a lighted tree at a makeshift shrine in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":32,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Lucas, Kelly and Michael DaSilva pray and embrace at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":33,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People are overcome with emotion Saturday at a makeshift memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":34,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Residents arrive Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":35,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A couple carry balloons to place at a curbside shrine to in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":36,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A mother and daughter attend a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":37,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Flowers and signs of sympathy adorn the street leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":38,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Claudia Urbiana and daughter Jocelyne Cardenas, left, hug outside of the entrance to the Sandy Hook school.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":39,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A makeshift memorial with flowers, stuffed toys and candles sit outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":40,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A man bows his head as he stands at a makeshift memorial, outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":41,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
New Jersey resident Steve Wruble, who was moved to drive out to Connecticut to support local residents, grieves for victims at the entrance to Sandy Hook village in Newtown on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":42,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People attend a prayer service in Newtown on Saturday to reflect.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":43,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A mother hugs her children after paying tribute to the victims in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":44,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Newtown High School student Trevor Lopez stands outside of a church where residents have come to pray and reflect on SaturdaycnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":45,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Andrea Jaeger places flowers and a candle at a makeshift memorial outside a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":46,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
The U.S. flag flies at half-staff above the White House on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":47,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Ken Kowalsky and his daughter Rebecca, 13, embrace while standing at the end of the road leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":48,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A woman puts a flower near crosses planted by Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace), in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":49,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A woman sits during a service at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, December 14.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":50,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Fans at the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown shooting on Friday in Phoenix.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":51,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
An overflow crowd listens to a church service held at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown on December 14.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":52,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":53,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather for a vigil outside the White House in Washington following the Connecticut elementary school shooting on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":54,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Candles burn as people gather for a vigil outside the White House.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":55,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Padro Segarra speaks emotionally about the students and teachers who died earlier in the day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in nearby Newtown at a candlelight vigil at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":56,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Cynthia Alvarez is comforted by her mother, Lilia, as people gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":57,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":58,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":59,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather inside the St. Rose Church to remember the shooting victims on FridaycnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":60,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A woman bows her head during a vigil for the shooting victims at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":61,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather in the St. Rose Church for a memorial service Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":62,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Women comfort each other during the vigil at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":63,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A woman looks on during the vigil at St. Rose Church.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":64,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People hug outside of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Friday, near the site of the shootings at the Sandy Hook school.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":65,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
A flag at the U.S. Capitol flies at half-staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking from the White House. Obama called for "meaningful action" in the wake of the school shooting.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":66,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Julie Henson of San Francisco joins other people outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":67,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the shooting on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":68,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Washington resident Rachel Perrone, left, and her 5-year-old son, Joe, center, join others outside the White House in a candlelight vigil.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":69,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Faisal Ali, right, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, joins the vigil outside the White House.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":70,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}People gather outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":71,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}Supporters of gun control hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting outside the White House.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":72,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}HIDE CAPTIONReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killings<<<
Julie Henson of San Francisco joins other people outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":67,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the shooting on Friday.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":68,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Washington resident Rachel Perrone, left, and her 5-year-old son, Joe, center, join others outside the White House in a candlelight vigil.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":69,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Faisal Ali, right, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, joins the vigil outside the White House.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":70,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
People gather outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":71,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}
Supporters of gun control hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting outside the White House.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":72,"title":"Reaction to Newtown school killings"}HIDE CAPTIONReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killingsReaction to Newtown school killings<<<
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72>>>Event.observe(window,'load',function(){if(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined'){cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image,"Reaction to Newtown school killings ");}});STORY HIGHLIGHTSKatherine Newman: Bucolic country towns are locus for most school shootings in U.S.She says her research shows patterns in such shootings; they are often planned far in advanceShe says attackers often hint at plans; they long to fit in, gain peers' attention acceptanceNewman: We must provide settings for children to confide in adultsEditor's note: Katherine S. Newman is the James B. Knapp Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and the co-author of "Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings" (Basic Books, 2004). (CNN) -- How could it happen here? This is the question plaguing residents of Newtown, Conn., a picture-perfect country town with good schools, quiet streets and a strong sense of community. But small towns like Newtown are where 60% of rampage school shootings in the United States occur. Far from big urban centers where gun violence is common, these communities are generally very safe. But more often than not, they are the places where this kind of tragedy strikes.
My research team spent two years trying to understand rampage school shootings. We spent several months in Kentucky and Arkansas, in two towns that had been the scenes of shootings in the late 1990's. We interviewed the shooters' neighbors, friends, instructors, coaches and Sunday school teachers. We talked to people who had observed the shooters in jail cells right after the shootings, and years later in prison. We combed the records of every shooting of this kind in the U.S. from the 1970s onward, looking for patterns. And while each tragedy has its own anatomy, a picture emerged that makes sociological sense and probably has some bearing on the Newtown case.Opinion: Put reason back in America's gun debate
Katherine NewmanRampage shootings are never spontaneous. They are planned, often for months in advance. We don't know yet whether the Newtown shooter, Adam Lanza, gave any warnings, but in the episodes we studied, shooters commonly told their peers -- often in a veiled and ambiguous fashion -- what they had in mind.One reason shooters tip their hands is that they are trying to solve a problem. Though they are often intelligent, high-performing boys, their peers tend to see them as unattractive losers, weak and unmanly. In a school culture that values sports prowess over academic accomplishment, they face rejection. The shooters are rarely loners, but tend instead to be failed joiners, and their daily social experience is full of friction. Since they are almost always mentally or emotionally ill, those rejections -- so common in adolescence -- take on greater importance and become a fixation. Rebuffed after trying to join friendship groups, they look for ways to gain attention, to reverse their damaged identities.The shooting is the last act in a long drama: a search for acceptance and recognition. The earlier acts fail miserably. But once a shooter starts to talk about killing people, ostracism can turn to inclusion. Suddenly, he is getting the attention he has been craving. Michael Carneal, who killed three high school girls and paralyzed a fourth when he was a freshman in a Kentucky high school, pulled pranks, told loud silly jokes and stole CD's in an attempt to impress. None of it worked. But the day he started talking about shooting people, that began to change. The Goth group he desperately wanted to join wheeled in his direction for the first time.Carneal never thought about how his actions would destroy lives or send his neighbors into a lifetime of angry mourning. Interviewed after the shooting, he said he thought that those boys would at last become his friends. He would be asked over to their houses and they would visit him. He would be cool. He was a skinny 13-year-old with glasses, a bright boy fond of reading and terrible at football -- all he was after was another identity.Opinion: Mourn...and take action on guns Look at photos of Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter at Virginia Tech who murdered 32 people, and you will see eerie echoes of what Lanza reportedly wore: mask, military fatigues, multiple guns in assault position. Many of these young men are trying to cast themselves as stars of a movie that ends in a blaze of suicidal gunfire and notoriety. Our research on earlier shootings showed the attack is on a school because that is the center stage in a small town, where the young men can rivet the entire communityBecome a fan of CNNOpinionStay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments.If so many clues are out there, why don't more people see them? High-school teachers see students less than an hour a day, and rarely compare notes with other teachers, even after witnessing troubling behavior. They often do not document infractions, preferring to address problems in their own classrooms.Peers, on the other hand, do hear things. Why don't they come forward?Opinion: Parents' promise: I will keep you safe First, the signal is noisy. Michael Carneal was always saying goofy things. He explained to his would-be friends that they would see who "lived or died on Monday." Mitchell Johnson, who, together with Andrew Golden, killed four kids and a teacher in an Arkansas middle school, told his friends that he would be "running from the cops." They recognized in hindsight that he was telegraphing his intentions. But at the time, most didn't know what to make of these comments. A few students took Michael Carneal's warnings so seriously that they didn't go to school that fateful Monday. But none of the dozens of kids in either school who heard veiled threats reported them to adults.var currExpandable="expand114";if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);}var mObj={};mObj.type='video';mObj.contentId='';mObj.source='us/2012/12/16/ct-police-presser.cnn';mObj.videoSource='CNN';mObj.videoSourceUrl='http://www.cnn.com/';mObj.lgImage="C:\Program Files\ABS\Auto Blog Samurai\data\candientuviet\The news\121216070058-ct-police-presser-00002422-story-body.jpg";mObj.lgImageX=300;mObj.lgImageY=169;mObj.origImageX="214";mObj.origImageY="120";mObj.contentType='video';CNN.expElements.expand114Store=mObj;
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Should you discuss shootings with kids?They didn't know how to interpret the signals. In the context of goofball comments they were used to, how could they know these were real warnings? Crossing the DMZ that separates kids from adults in early adolescence is socially dangerous. Why risk being deemed a tattletale or teacher's pet when you don't know whether those crazy asides actually mean anything?This quandary is the root of preventing rampage shootings in schools. Law enforcement will never be able to respond fast enough to stop shootings that often end in seconds. This is why we have to find ways for people who hear troubling rumors or threats to report them to people who can investigate and intervene. And while we do not know enough now to tell whether anyone had a clue about Adam Lanza's murderous intentions, it will not come as a shock if it turns out there were people in his social orbit who had an inkling, fuzzy and incredible as that inkling might be. It would fit the pattern of what we saw in virtually all of the other rampage shootings in American schools.Opinion: Has life in America gone insane?Would gun control help? Yes and no. Yes, because anything that thwarts the efforts of a Carneal or a Johnson to get their hands on guns will make it harder to perpetrate a massacre and will deter the ambivalent. If Adam Lanza had had to go to greater lengths to get his hands on weapons, he might have run out of psychic energy to do this terrible deed. It appears he had little trouble, though, because the guns belonged to his mother, were registered and legally owned. Why in the world we enable civilians to own such lethal instruments baffles millions of citizens and will be the subject of a searching debate if our politicians can get over the barriers that have prevented serious reform.But gun control is not enough. A determined person will find a way. Andrew Golden and Mitchell Johnson took a blow torch to a safe to try to get at the guns they knew were hidden there. That failed, so they found wire clippers and managed to cut their way through the cables that were supposed to keep Golden's grandfather's gun collection out of the wrong hands. People who are this intent on getting their hands on weapons are very difficult to stop. That is not an argument against gun control because thousands of unbalanced young men are not quite that determined; they are ambivalent. That is why gun control is a necessary but not sufficient step.Although we will not be able to stop all of these tragedies, we can cut down on their number by insuring that adults make themselves available to kids in completely confidential settings, reassuring them of their privacy when they take that risky step to come forward. We can provide opportunities for "round pegs" like Michael Carneal, a bright, intellectually inclined kid, to find a social space that doesn't depend on athletic prowess or a handsome face.If the reports of his childhood acquaintances prove to be correct, Adam Lanza may have been through a similar experience. Kids can be very cruel and they are not always courageous enough to own up to their culpability for ostracism, particularly since they don't know -- and cannot be held responsible -- for the extreme consequences of emotional damage they may be causing.In the end, though, there will be troubled boys and some of them will become killers. To the extent that we can capture the warning signals they send out to their peers, we can do our best to stop them in their tracks, even if we do not always succeed.Follow @CNNOpinion on TwitterJoin us at Facebook/CNNOpinionThe opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Katherine Newman0Comments »PrintEmailMore sharingvar OB_permalink='http://edition.cnn.com'+location.pathname;var OB_langJS='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js';var OB_widgetId='AR_1';var OB_Template="cnnedition";if (typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined'){OutbrainStart();}else{var OB_Script=true;var str="cnnad_createAd("915015","http://ads.cnn.com/html.ng/site=cnn_international&cnn_intl_pagetype=mmst&cnn_intl_position=607x95_adlinks&cnn_intl_rollup=opinion&page.allowcompete=no¶ms.styles=fs","95","607");cnnad_registerSpace(915015,607,95);cnnad_createAd("635274","http://ads.cnn.com/html.ng/site=cnn_international&cnn_intl_pagetype=mmst&cnn_intl_position=336x850_rgt&cnn_intl_rollup=opinion&page.allowcompete=no¶ms.styles=fs","850","336");cnnad_registerSpace(635274,336,850);
Part of complete coverage on Opinion on the newsHonor the victims -- with actionDecember 17, 2012 -- Updated 1241 GMT (2041 HKT)
David Gergen says we will be judged by whether we acted to stop the plague of gun violence.Put reason back in America's gun debate December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1210 GMT (2010 HKT)
Saul Cornell says we need to look at the original ideals of the Constitution's framersTragedy brings out best, worst of mediaDecember 17, 2012 -- Updated 1049 GMT (1849 HKT)
Howard Kurtz says the media made mistakes in its rush to report on the Newtown shootings.To help kids with tragedy, slow down, listenDecember 15, 2012 -- Updated 2126 GMT (0526 HKT)
Michael Simon says that in the wake of events like the Connecticut shooting, kids need quiet, calm attention.Parents' promise: I will keep you safeDecember 17, 2012 -- Updated 1211 GMT (2011 HKT)
LZ Granderson says parents are confronting new anxiety over their inability to protect their children in a world of violence.Has life in America gone insane?December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1213 GMT (2013 HKT)
Bob Greene says the nation finds itself once again in a bleak and familiar place -- unable to answer the most basic question of all: Why?Enough with our cowardiceDecember 16, 2012 -- Updated 2244 GMT (0644 HKT)
Roland Martin asks whether the U.S. has become a nation of cowards desperate to duck real issues such as gun control, mental illnessMourn, and take action on gunsDecember 16, 2012 -- Updated 1451 GMT (2251 HKT)
Ethan Zuckerman says ignore those who warn against "politicizing" the Newtown shootings; mourn these senseless deaths by demanding we change our laws, culture to end gun violence. How to design a better worldDecember 16, 2012 -- Updated 1414 GMT (2214 HKT)
John Maeda says good design is often invisible but it can contribute to reshaping the way our society worksAn unfair portrait of Susan RiceDecember 14, 2012 -- Updated 1422 GMT (2222 HKT)
Amar Bakshi, a former assistant to the U.N. ambassador, says articles criticizing Rice's personality were caricatures of her real selfIt's 'slime' time in college footballDecember 17, 2012 -- Updated 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)
Jeff Pearlman says he wouldn't trust new Western Kentucky football coach Bobby Petrino with his dogFollow CNN Opinion on Twitter
Get the latest opinion and analysis from CNN's columnists and contributors.A lucky day for Susan RiceDecember 14, 2012 -- Updated 1421 GMT (2221 HKT)
David Rothkopf says Rice didn't achieve her dream of becoming secretary of state, but it's likely that whoever gets the job will face a constant ordeal confronting America's global challenges.A feminist film epic and the real women of the CIADecember 13, 2012 -- Updated 2249 GMT (0649 HKT)
The new film Zero Dark Thirty gets it right, says Peter Bergen -- the hunt for bin Laden owed much to the role of female analysts who found key clues Do you believe in celebrity wardrobe 'malfunction'? December 14, 2012 -- Updated 1255 GMT (2055 HKT)
Dean Obeidallah says Anne Hathaway's mishap makes us wonder if we are being played for idiots by celebrities seeking attention Will Obama help unions?December 13, 2012 -- Updated 2213 GMT (0613 HKT)
Nelson Lichtenstein: President Obama and the Democrats need to defend trade unionism in its hour of need. CIA's most famous operative is a secret starDecember 13, 2012 -- Updated 1259 GMT (2059 HKT)
Howard Kurtz says the new film "Zero Dark Thirty" is going to make a hero of a hard-charging woman who helped drive the hunt for bin Laden, but her name is a secret. Have yourself a merry atheist Christmas!December 13, 2012 -- Updated 1431 GMT (2231 HKT)
Penn Jillette describes how The Monkees might offer strategy in the war on Christmas. But for a war, it's pretty harmless. Javier Bardem: Stand up for the abused in Western SaharaDecember 13, 2012 -- Updated 1802 GMT (0202 HKT)
The actor says Morocco has been abusing the human rights of about 200,000 Sahrawi people, and the international community should exert pressure to stop it.Ravi Shankar, emissary for world beatDecember 13, 2012 -- Updated 1314 GMT (2114 HKT)
Gene Seymour says "Beauty" seemed somehow an insufficient description for the sounds that came from Ravi Shankar's sitar in a concert hall. One small step for Kim Jong UnDecember 13, 2012 -- Updated 2205 GMT (0605 HKT)
Joe Cirincione: North Korea's successful launch of a satellite is a major feat, but it is not a serious military threat to other nations. 
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