Frantic 911 calls from inside the Sandy Hook Elementary school where a crazed gunman went on a shooting rampage last December met with calm responses from local dispatchers who urged everyone to take cover as gunshots popped in the background, according to tapes released Wednesday.
Panicked callers can be heard gasping and pleading for help as dispatchers asked for the whereabouts of children and pressed for details amid the chaos.
[h=4]Bob Child/ASSOCIATED PRESS[/h][h=4]Judge Eliot Prescott of the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut has allowed the release of tapes of 911 calls made during the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting last year.[/h]
One of the first callers, a woman, struggles audibly to control her fear as she describes a gunman shooting inside the school.
RELATED: SANDY HOOK 911 CALLS SHOULD BE MADE PUBLIC: JUDGE
[h=4]Mario Tama/Getty Images[/h][h=4]Responders gathered at the scene of Adam Lanza’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last December.[/h]
"I caught a glimpse of somebody. They're running down the hallway. Oh, they're still running and still shooting. Sandy Hook school, please," the woman said.
An onslaught of 911 calls follow, and one dispatcher can be heard telling a co-worker to get off the phone and contact state police immediately.
[h=4]Shannon Hicks/Newtown Bee/AP[/h][h=4]Connecticut State Police lead a line of children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 after a shooting at the school.[/h]
Another call came from a custodian, Rick Thorne, who said that a window at the front of the school was shattered. The distant boom of gunfire can be heard over his rushed speech.
PHOTOS: GUNMAN KILLS 26 AT CONN. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
[h=4]Handout/Getty Images[/h][h=4]This Glock was found near gunman Adam Lanza in Room 10 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after the Dec. 14 mass shooting.[/h]
"There's still shooting going on, please!" the custodian can be heard saying, as several shots rang out on the tape.
"Still, it's still going on!" he exclaimed, as a dispatcher told another worker to get "everyone you can going down there."
[h=4]Handout/Getty Images[/h][h=4]This Bushmaster rifle was also found in Room 10 of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after Adam Lanza’s deadly shooting spree.[/h]
The killer, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, had blasted his way into the Newtown, Conn., elementary school around 9:35 a.m. on Dec. 14. He'd already shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, inside their house.
RELATED: CHILLING BOOK EXCERPTS DETAIL NEWTOWN MASSACRE
[h=4]Eliza Hallabeck/AP[/h][h=4]Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and one of Adam Lanza's victims.[/h]
Armed with a Glock pistol and two semi-automatic weapons, a Bushmaster and a Sig-Sauer, Lanza went on a murderous spree.
When his rampage ended a few minutes later, eight boys and 12 girls, all between the ages of 6 and 7 years old, were dead. He also killed six female staffers before taking his own life.
[h=4]Anthony DelMundo/Anthony DelMundo for News[/h][h=4]Victoria Soto was one of the teachers who were killed during Adam Lanza’s rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn.[/h]
Newtown authorities did not want to release the seven 911 calls made from frantic teachers, workers and others during those last terrible moments.
RELATED: NEWTOWN FAMILIES BLAME ADAM LANZA’S MOM FOR RAISING A MURDERER
[h=4]Rex / Rex USA/Rex / Rex USA[/h][h=4]Special education teacher Rachel D'Avino, 29, one of the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., who was killed by Adam Lanza.[/h]
State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky went to court in an attempt to block the release of the tapes, arguing it would hurt families and damage the investigation.
But Judge Eliot Prescott denied Sedensky's request and ordered the audio be made public.
[h=4]Rex Features/ASSOCIATED PRESS[/h][h=4]Mary Sherlach, 56, the school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was shot dead trying to save her students from gunman Adam Lanza.[/h]
Calls that were routed to state police are the subject of a separate, pending freedom of information request by the Associated Press.
RELATED: INSIDE NEWTOWN SHOOTER ADAM LANZA'S LAIR
[h=4]AP[/h][h=4]Lauren Rousseau was killed when Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults.[/h]
The Newtown massacre ignited a national debate on gun control, including proposals to ban the sale and manufacture of some semi-automatic firearms.
Gun-control advocates in Newtown plan to hold a vigil and rally two days before the Sandy Hook shooting anniversary in Washington, D.C.
[h=4]Office of the Connecticut State's Attorney Judicial District of Danbury/AP[/h][h=4]An outside entrance to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which shows glass shards that were shot out.[/h]
Organized by the Newtown Foundation — a nonprofit founded by locals in the wake of the tragedy — the rally will be Dec. 12 outside the National Cathedral.
RELATED: NEWTOWN H.S. FOOTBALL TEAM WON'T PLAY ON SANDY HOOK ANNIVERSARY
[h=4]Handout/Getty Images[/h][h=4]This Sig Sauer P226 9mm was also found with Adam Lanza after his rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.[/h]
Billed as a National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence, the event will kick off around 3:45 p.m., organizers said.
With News Wire Services
[email protected]
On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video.
Panicked callers can be heard gasping and pleading for help as dispatchers asked for the whereabouts of children and pressed for details amid the chaos.
One of the first callers, a woman, struggles audibly to control her fear as she describes a gunman shooting inside the school.
RELATED: SANDY HOOK 911 CALLS SHOULD BE MADE PUBLIC: JUDGE
"I caught a glimpse of somebody. They're running down the hallway. Oh, they're still running and still shooting. Sandy Hook school, please," the woman said.
An onslaught of 911 calls follow, and one dispatcher can be heard telling a co-worker to get off the phone and contact state police immediately.
Another call came from a custodian, Rick Thorne, who said that a window at the front of the school was shattered. The distant boom of gunfire can be heard over his rushed speech.
PHOTOS: GUNMAN KILLS 26 AT CONN. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
"There's still shooting going on, please!" the custodian can be heard saying, as several shots rang out on the tape.
"Still, it's still going on!" he exclaimed, as a dispatcher told another worker to get "everyone you can going down there."
The killer, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, had blasted his way into the Newtown, Conn., elementary school around 9:35 a.m. on Dec. 14. He'd already shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, inside their house.
RELATED: CHILLING BOOK EXCERPTS DETAIL NEWTOWN MASSACRE
Armed with a Glock pistol and two semi-automatic weapons, a Bushmaster and a Sig-Sauer, Lanza went on a murderous spree.
When his rampage ended a few minutes later, eight boys and 12 girls, all between the ages of 6 and 7 years old, were dead. He also killed six female staffers before taking his own life.
Newtown authorities did not want to release the seven 911 calls made from frantic teachers, workers and others during those last terrible moments.
RELATED: NEWTOWN FAMILIES BLAME ADAM LANZA’S MOM FOR RAISING A MURDERER
State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky went to court in an attempt to block the release of the tapes, arguing it would hurt families and damage the investigation.
But Judge Eliot Prescott denied Sedensky's request and ordered the audio be made public.
Calls that were routed to state police are the subject of a separate, pending freedom of information request by the Associated Press.
RELATED: INSIDE NEWTOWN SHOOTER ADAM LANZA'S LAIR
The Newtown massacre ignited a national debate on gun control, including proposals to ban the sale and manufacture of some semi-automatic firearms.
Gun-control advocates in Newtown plan to hold a vigil and rally two days before the Sandy Hook shooting anniversary in Washington, D.C.
Organized by the Newtown Foundation — a nonprofit founded by locals in the wake of the tragedy — the rally will be Dec. 12 outside the National Cathedral.
RELATED: NEWTOWN H.S. FOOTBALL TEAM WON'T PLAY ON SANDY HOOK ANNIVERSARY
Billed as a National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence, the event will kick off around 3:45 p.m., organizers said.
With News Wire Services
[email protected]
On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video.