A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a 6-year old student survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting.
The suit, which is seeking $100 million in damages, alleges that the state of Connecticut and school district failed to provide a “safe school setting” and “an effective student safety emergency response plan and protocol.”
The unidentified client, referred to as Jill Doe, heard “cursing, screaming, and shooting” over the school intercom when the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, opened fire, according to the claim filed by New Haven-based attorney Irv Pinsky.
“As a consequence, the … child has sustained emotional and psychological trauma and injury, the nature and extent of which are yet to be determined,” the claim said.
Pinsky said he filed a claim on Thursday with state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr., whose office must give permission before a lawsuit can be filed against the state.
“We all know its going to happen again,” Pinsky said on Friday. “Society has to take action.”
It’s not clear exactly what safety procedures the plaintiff is arguing should have been in place.
Numerous opinions suggest that security measures at the school were inadequate, which allowed gunman Adam Lanza direct access to school administration offices in the building, as well as classrooms.
Reports indicate that Lanza first entered the principal’s office, at which point principal Dawn Hochsprung turned on the school wide intercom system, likely in an attempt to alert teachers of the situation as it was unfolding. Hochsprung was killed in the attack.
Some teacher’s responded by immediately locking students into classrooms, while others may not have had time to react or were not sure what to do in response to the chaos unfolding live on the school alert system.
A debate has ensued in the aftermath of the shooting about whether the solution to preventing future attacks is to ban assault weapons like those that were supposedly used at Sandy Hook, or whether teachers and school administrators should be authorized to carry firearms on school property.
President Obama and some Congressional members who have weighed in on the conversation have said they will pursue weapons restrictions, but have made no mention of arming school officials.
The school attended by President Obama’s daughters has 11 armed guards, though some vocal anti-gun proponents are against such measures for public schools, claiming that Americans can’t afford to put a police officer in every school.
