Politics as usual came to a standstill for many in Washington today after a horrific shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut.
Police in Newton, Conn., confirm that 27 were killed this morning, including 20 children, six adults and the shooter. Reports indicate the shooting occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m. at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
According to the Associated Press, the shooting appears to be the second-deadliest school shooting in the nation’s history. The most deadly occurred at Virginia Tech in 2007, leaving 32 people and the gunman dead. The shooter’s motivation remains unclear.
Despite the somber tone in Washington, some sought to credit secular culture for the violence in Connecticut. Bryan Fischer of the anti-gay American Family Association took to Twitter to blame the shooting on “America’s cultural decay.”
“When we had God and prayer in our public schools, we didn’t need guns,” Fischer tweeted, adding, “We’ve spent 50 years kicking God out of our public schools, then wonder why he’s not around when we need him.”
During an appearance on Fox News, former Arkansas governor and Republican candidate for president Mike Huckabee attributed a lack of faith in God to today’s violence.
“We ask why there’s violence in our schools, but we’ve systematically removed God from our schools,” Huckabee said. “Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage because we’ve made it a place where we don’t want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability?”
During remarks this afternoon, a teary-eyed President Barack Obama struck a different tone, pausing several times to regain his composure.
“We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in these past few years and each time I learn the news I react not as a president but as anyone else would as a parent and that was especially true today,” Obama said Friday afternoon from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, which was renamed in 2000 for the press secretary wounded during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin joined in expressing condolences to the victims and their families in a statement released Friday.
“The entire HRC family mourns today’s horrific tragedy in Newtown,” Griffin said. “We extend condolences, thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims as well as to the entire state of Connecticut which is still reeling from this senseless act violence. We note with sadness that it was less than a week since two innocent lives were lost at a mall in Oregon, and we offer our well-wishes and support to law enforcement officials investigating these truly heinous crimes.”
Although Obama did not address gun control during his remarks, he hinted at the possibility of legislative action, stating, “We’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”
Two teenage girls were shot and another was stabbed during a chaotic brawl in Greenwich Village, a few blocks from the historic Stonewall Inn, after Sunday’s NYC Pride Parade ended.
According to police, a fight broke out between two groups of young people in Sheridan Square, near Christopher Park and the Stonewall National Monument, site of the 1969 uprising considered the seminal moment of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
The altercation began around 10:15 p.m., when a 16-year-old girl from one group moved through the crowd in the square and pulled out a 9-millimeter gun, aiming it at a boy's head in the opposing group. She missed, firing two shots, one of which struck a 17-year-old girl visiting from Bayonne, N.J., in the thigh.
In a clear jab at LGBTQ Pride Month, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) introduced a resolution last week to declare June as "Family Month" — a move right-wing outlet The Daily Wire hailed as an effort to "reclaim the first month of summer from LGBTQ ideology."
The American family is under relentless attack from a radical leftist agenda that seeks to erase truth, redefine marriage, and confuse our children," Miller told The Daily Wire.
"By recognizing June as Family Month, we reject the lie of 'Pride' and instead honor God's timeless and perfect design. If we truly want to restore our nation, we must stand united to protect and uphold the foundation upon which it was built — the family."
Two youths were stabbed in Dupont Circle and an adult man was shot nearby during WorldPride on Saturday, hours after U.S. Park Police removed anti-scale fencing.
Two juveniles were stabbed in Dupont Circle Park and a man was shot nearby on Saturday, June 7, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police have asked all people, including neighborhood residents and Pride revelers, to clear the park.
Police closed off the 19th Street NW entrance to the Dupont Circle Metro station due to the investigation, reports D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA.
At around 7:02 p.m., a fight broke out between groups of juveniles in Dupont Circle Park. Two people, both juveniles, were stabbed during the fight, and both were transported to area hospitals conscious and breathing, according to a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson.
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shooter. Reports indicate the shooting occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m. at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
