“We’ve got a shooting at theSandy Hook Elementary School.”
The 911 calls that poured into Newtown, Conn., police last Dec. 14 were handled by calm and firm dispatchers who directed a custodian to “take cover,” told a teacher to keep her kids away from the windows, and tried to reassure desperate callers as gunshots could be heard in the background.
LISTEN TO THE 911 CALLS
Officials released recordings of the calls on Wednesday after a judge ordered them to do so, against the wishes of many Newtown residents, town leaders and the state’s attorney for theDanburyregion, Stephen Sedensky III.
They argued that making the information public would force victims’ families and survivors to relive the tragedy.
The judge sided with freedom-of-information advocates who said 911 calls were public record and could not legally be kept sealed. They were released Wednesday afternoon, 10 days before the first anniversary ofAdam Lanza’s rampage, which killed 20 first-graders and six school employees.
Much in the recordings is barely discernible, but the fear and desperation in callers’ voices is clear. Also clear is the main 911 dispatcher’s determination to keep the callers, and himself, calm as phones ring incessantly around him with people phoning in reports of the shooting.
“Newtown 911, what’s the location of your emergency?” the dispatcher says over and over again as he answers each call.
“My wife just texted me and said there’s a shooter in the school,” one man says.
“OK, we have officers on the scene,” the dispatcher says as he goes onto more calls.
A woman, breathless and in a shaky voice, says when the dispatcher answers her call: "I think there’s somebody shooting in here.”
“What makes you say that?” the dispatcher replies.
“Because somebody’s got a gun,” the woman says, sounding tearful.
The most dramatic exchanges are between the dispatcher and a custodian, who remains on the line as shots can be heard blasting in the background.
“I believe there’s a shooting … something’s going on,” says the custodian, who is in a corridor.
“All right, I want you to take cover,” the dispatcher says.
“It’s still going on … I keep hearing shooting. I keep hearing popping,” says the custodian, who is still on the phone with the dispatcher when police arrive on the scene.
A female teacher calls in from her classroom, calmly explaining what she hears.
“It sounds like there are gunshots in the hallway,” she tells a different dispatcher, who asks if her pupils are safe inside the classroom. They are, the teacher responds.
“Keep everybody calm, keep everybody down,” the dispatcher says. “Get everyone away from the windows.”
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The 911 calls that poured into Newtown, Conn., police last Dec. 14 were handled by calm and firm dispatchers who directed a custodian to “take cover,” told a teacher to keep her kids away from the windows, and tried to reassure desperate callers as gunshots could be heard in the background.
LISTEN TO THE 911 CALLS
Officials released recordings of the calls on Wednesday after a judge ordered them to do so, against the wishes of many Newtown residents, town leaders and the state’s attorney for theDanburyregion, Stephen Sedensky III.
They argued that making the information public would force victims’ families and survivors to relive the tragedy.
The judge sided with freedom-of-information advocates who said 911 calls were public record and could not legally be kept sealed. They were released Wednesday afternoon, 10 days before the first anniversary ofAdam Lanza’s rampage, which killed 20 first-graders and six school employees.
Much in the recordings is barely discernible, but the fear and desperation in callers’ voices is clear. Also clear is the main 911 dispatcher’s determination to keep the callers, and himself, calm as phones ring incessantly around him with people phoning in reports of the shooting.
“Newtown 911, what’s the location of your emergency?” the dispatcher says over and over again as he answers each call.
“My wife just texted me and said there’s a shooter in the school,” one man says.
“OK, we have officers on the scene,” the dispatcher says as he goes onto more calls.
A woman, breathless and in a shaky voice, says when the dispatcher answers her call: "I think there’s somebody shooting in here.”
“What makes you say that?” the dispatcher replies.
“Because somebody’s got a gun,” the woman says, sounding tearful.
The most dramatic exchanges are between the dispatcher and a custodian, who remains on the line as shots can be heard blasting in the background.
“I believe there’s a shooting … something’s going on,” says the custodian, who is in a corridor.
“All right, I want you to take cover,” the dispatcher says.
“It’s still going on … I keep hearing shooting. I keep hearing popping,” says the custodian, who is still on the phone with the dispatcher when police arrive on the scene.
A female teacher calls in from her classroom, calmly explaining what she hears.
“It sounds like there are gunshots in the hallway,” she tells a different dispatcher, who asks if her pupils are safe inside the classroom. They are, the teacher responds.
“Keep everybody calm, keep everybody down,” the dispatcher says. “Get everyone away from the windows.”
ALSO:
Key points debated in the decision to release Newtown 911 calls
Hawaii's shark worries worsen after kayaker dies after Maui attack
New York train derailment: Engineer may have 'zoned out' before crash