Newtown Officials Defend Police Response to School Shootings

Analysis over whether they waited too long to enter Sandy Hook Elementary

Town and police officials and the family member of a victim are defending the Newtown police response to the Dec. 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in response to a report that State Police are examining whether officers unnecessarily delayed entering the building.

They said any hesitation either was minimal or justified given the chaos at the scene, including a report, later proven unfounded, that there was a second shooter at the school as well as fears by the first officers on the scene that the gunman was firing at them.

The comments were a reaction to a story in the Hearst Connecticut Newspapers on Sunday, indicating a review by state police investigators of audio and video recordings from the cruisers of the first Newtown officers to arrive at the school revealed that Adam Lanza fired up to 10 rounds before police went in.

Cristina Hassinger, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung, said that in the many updates families have received from state police on the investigation, there has never been any mention of a delayed response from local police entering the building.