Newtown School Shootings: Sandy Hook Memorials [Pics]

Newtown, CT — The state of Connecticut and the nation observed a moment of silence at 9:30 am this morning for the 20 children and six adults murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting rampage seven days ago almost to the minute. Church bells in the state and around the country pealed 26 times to honor each lost life.

Residents have established memorials to the victims of the Newtown massacre. The streets of Newtown are also clogged with well-wishers and supporters from far and wide. Visitors are flocking to Newtown to respectfully mourn and pay tribute to the shooting victims and have contributed to those memorials in the area near the Sandy Hook Elementary School and elsewhere throughout the small town. Others from around the country and around the world unable to be there personally have sent in items to become part of the Newtown school shooting memorials.

These heart-wrenching images below from the Sandy Hook Elementary School area in Newtown taken yesterday speak for themselves for the most part. Flowers, candles, religious artifacts, teddy bears, 26 Christmas trees and stockings, posters with heartfelt handwritten messages, and other profound expressions of sympathy line the Church Hill Road/Riverside Drive area of Newtown as well as the corner of Dickinson Drive, the entrance road to Sandy Hill Elementary School. Comfort dogs (see below) are on the scene to relieve some of the emotional stress.

A state police checkpoint guards the Newtown school at Dickinson Drive because it is still an active crime scene; at this time, it is not possible for visitors to go up to the school — which is located behind the firehouse — itself.

Some locals apparently have had enough of the saturation television coverage, however. A number of businesses have “no media” or “no press” signs posted in their windows.

The names of each victim appear on this fence. The Newtown fire house is in the rear; Sandy Hill Elementary School (which is not accessible to the public) is off to the right:

State Police guard the entrance to the Sandy Hook Elementary School; no admittance other than law enforcement:

Various memorials to the fallen in Newtown, Connecticut that express deep sympathy and at the same time hope for the future:

The line of cars seeking to gain access to the Sandy Hook Elementary School area:

[All photos by Robert Jonathan]