Town, State React to 12/14 Report Release

In the day since the state released its comprehensive summary of investigation into the events of Dec. 14, family members, local and state officials have spoken on their feelings after reading the report.

On a Facebook page devoted to her daughter, Donna Soto — mother of teacher Victoria Soto — said she had been one of those to read the report prior to its release.

"No, we cannot make sense of why it happened, we don't know if anyone ever will," she wrote. "We don't know if we will ever be whole again, we don't know if we will go a day without pain, we don't know if anything will ever make sense again."

"Much of the detail in the report is presented in such a factual, neutral way that it almost felt unreal, sanitized somehow, and not really a telling of the horror that unfolded on that awful day," First Selectman Pat Llodra wrote in her official statement, a post on her OneNewtown blog taken from the Newtown Bee. "I am overwhelmingly sad for the loss of so many loved ones – and sad, too, for a young man isolated and damaged beyond reach by mental illness, so much so that even his one available parent could not make a positive difference."

"My thoughts today are with the people who lost a loved one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as they have been nearly every day since the tragedy," said Gov. Dannel Malloy. "The release of this report will no doubt be difficult on them.  But if there is one thing that I believe we must do, it’s that we must honor the lives that were lost by taking steps to protect ourselves from another horror like this.  I hope that the information in this summary and in the supporting documents that will be released by the State Police takes us closer to that goal."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the report "a gripping, graphic reminder of the cruelty and brutality that caused this unspeakable tragedy, and a testament to the bravery and courage of scores of first responders."

He also said he hopes the report spurs more action to prevent gun violence.

"The lessons of this report are simple: We must improve school security, increase mental health services, and require background checks for all gun purchases so we can keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people. We should not wait for another gun violence tragedy to institute these reforms and other common sense measures. The cost of inaction is too great."