President Barack Obama and the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC) were among those on Friday mourning the loss of
20 children in Newtown, Connecticut.
The shooter, Adam Lanza, was only 20.
His first victim was his devoted mother, Nancy, in her home, followed
by 20 children and 7 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He then
killed himself.
According to reports, the Lanzas
divorced in 2008. Peter Lanza paid nearly $250,000 annually in
alimony to his ex-wife.
A tearful Obama mourned the losses.
“I know there's not a parent in
America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do,” he
said during a press conference. “The majority of those who died
today were children. Beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and
10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them. Birthdays,
graduations, weddings, kids of their own.” (The video is embedded
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“The entire HRC family mourns today's
horrific tragedy in Newtown,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a
statement. “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.”