A charitable fund to help those affected by the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary has raised over $3.5 million in just two weeks, according to the Litchfield County Times. The massive outpouring of support for victims and families touched by the horrific events of Dec. 14 has overwhelmed the United Way of Western Connecticut and Newtown Savings Banks.
Newtown, Conn. has formed a transition team to manage the fund based on the city's needs, according to the County Times. Neither the UWWC, nor the Newtown Savings Bank will receive the donations as they're designed to only take in undesignated contributions.
"Our reaction is nothing short of astounded and appreciative. We have received both calls and gifts from around the world. This tragedy has touched so many hearts in a way that you just can't predict," said Kim Morgan, CEO of United Way of Western Connecticut.
Selectman William Rodgers, an attorney who is part of the committee in charge of the UWWC fund, said the fund may close in several months. First Selectwoman Patricia Llodra decided to preserve the items and turn them into "sacred soil" as the foundation for a permanent memorial. No location has been determined for the memorial at this time, according to Llodra.
"It was difficult to decide how to honor all the beautiful contributions," Llodra said.
"All I can say is thank you," she added. "We have truly been touched by those who have been so generous. We know we are not alone in this and that the public has wrapped their arms around us."
Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza reportedly shot his mother Nancy four times as she lay in bed Dec. 14, packed at least three of her guns, and then drove her car to the Connecticut K-4 elementary school, opening fire in two classrooms around 9:30 a.m., fatally shooting 20 children and six adults, in the second-deadliest school shooting ever, police said. Police are still searching for a motive; witnesses said the shooter didn't utter a word.
According to police, the three guns used in the shooting were legally purchased and registered to his mother. Lanza reportedly primarily used a military-style Bushmaster .223 assault rifle during the shootings.
Investigators questioned Lanza's older brother, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, N.J., for hours Friday and searched his computers and phone records, but he told law enforcement he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010. Police say he is not a suspect in the case.
According to numerous reports, Lanza suffered from Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder, which is a mild form of Autism, and was unable to physically feel pain. Numerous experts on the disorder have spoken out recently attempting to dissuade reports of the disorder's connection to tragic events.
Nancy Lanza had grown more and more concerned with Adam recently, pushing him occasionally to move out, but "he didn't want to leave," according an anonymous friend who spoke to the New York Daily News. "He didn't understand why she wanted him to go out into the world. She told me she couldn't reach him - and she was worried."
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