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Principal Was Trying to Stop Gunman When Killed

Dawn Hochsprung was reportedly lunging at shooter

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 15, 2012 1:30 PM CST

(Newser) – Stories of heroism are emerging in the aftermath of the Connecticut school shooting, including that of a first-grade teacher who was killed after hiding her students, and a custodian who ran through the halls making sure doors were locked. Now principal Dawn Hochsprung joins the list. The AP, quoting town officials in Newtown, says she "was killed while lunging at the gunman as she tried to overtake him."

Hochsprung and other administrators were apparently leaving a meeting as the gunman entered the school. The principal, and possibly others, ran toward him. The Newtown Bee has this line: "The last thing one witness recalled was her turning back and yelling a warning to lock the door as she apparently confronted the gunman." Asked whether Hochsprung was a hero, the chairman of the town's Legislative Council responded, "From what we know, it's hard to classify her as anything else."

This July 2010 photo provided by the Newtown Bee shows Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn.
This July 2010 photo provided by the Newtown Bee shows Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn.   (AP Photo/Eliza Hallabeck)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 18 comments
milosleubner
Dec 16, 2012 1:29 AM CST
  Dear  Dawn  ,I   wish  ,as   well as   you  do  now,that   you  had  a   gun   along   with   you  courage  ..Will remeber   you  as  hero   and  as  victim of  policy  of   fear.
Jamesd.
Dec 15, 2012 9:39 PM CST
Of course she was a hero, and there are probably many more people who acted heroically at the school that we will never even know about. God bless them and all the survivors of those who were killed.
Mad
Dec 15, 2012 4:13 PM CST
C'mon gun nuts, tell about how Hochsprung could've stopped this if only she was packing a gun (with armor piercing bullets) as she walked among the halls of her elementary school. 
 

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