FOXNews.com: TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS: Bells, Moment of Silence to Mark Week After Massacre

FOXNews.com FOX News Channel - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS: Bells, Moment of Silence to Mark Week After Massacre Dec 21st 2012, 10:29 NEWTOWN, Conn. –  Places of worship in Newtown and across the country will ring their bells 26 times Friday in memory of each child and staff member killed in last week's shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has asked people across his state to observe a moment of silence at 9:30 a.m., which will mark exactly one week since Adam Lanza gunned down 20 children and six adults at the school. The White House has said President Barack Obama will privately observe the moment of silence. Nationwide, places of worship and buildings with bells have been asked to ring them 26 times, for the victims at the school. Officials and clergy in many other states have said they will participate. Newtown and environs weathered a fourth day of funerals Thursday as mourners laid to rest Catherine Hubbard, Benjamin Wheeler, Jesse Lewis and Allison Wyatt, all 6 years old; and Grace McDonnell, 7. A service was held in Katonah, N.Y., for teacher Anne Marie Murphy, 52, who authorities believe helped shield some of her students from the rain of bullets. Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan compared her to Jesus. "Like Jesus, Annie laid down her life for her friends," Dolan said. "Like Jesus, Annie's life and death brings light, truth, goodness and love to a world often shrouded in darkness, evil, selfishness and death." Authorities say Adam Lanza shot his mother at their home and then took her car and some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A Connecticut official said Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast who practiced at shooting ranges, was shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. Lanza was wearing all black, with an olive-drab utility vest, during the attack. Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the rampage. A bell tolled Thursday at Newtown's St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church at the funeral for Catherine, who her family said would be remembered for her passion for animals and her constant smile. Trinity Episcopal church on Main Street was filled to capacity for the funeral for Benjamin, described as a budding musician and Beatles fan. His service included a rendition of "Here Comes The Sun." About two dozen Boy Scout leaders lined the front pathway to the church in honor of the former Cub Scout. In downtown Danbury, mourners filed into the ornate white-pillared First Congregational Church for a memorial service for 30-year-old teacher Lauren Rousseau. Friends wept at the altar as they remembered the spirited, hardworking, sunny-natured woman who brightened their lives with silliness and gave them all nicknames. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was one of the people to visit Newtown on Thursday, stopping by a firehouse. The Obama administration will push to tighten gun laws in response to the shooting, Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday, and Speaker John Boehner said the GOP-controlled House would consider the proposals. Biden, who is overseeing the administration's response to Friday's shooting, said he and Obama are "absolutely committed" to curbing gun violence in the United States. "Even if we can only save one life, we have to take action," he said. Gun-control measures have faced fierce resistance in Congress for years, but that may be changing because of the events in Connecticut, which shocked the nation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, assisted by local police raided an East Windsor gun shop Thursday where a man allegedly tried to steal an assault rifle following the mass shooting. He was later arrested. The reason for the raid on Riverview Gun Sales was unclear and officials told the Hartford Courant it was not prompted by one incident. David LaGuercia, owner of the shop, issued a statement on Wednesday confirming he sold one gun to Nancy Lanza, the mother of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter, several years ago and he was "appalled" it may have been used to kill children. LaGuercia said he's cooperating with authorities. Rarely do residents of Newtown mention the first person police said Adam Lanza killed that morning: his mother, Nancy, who was shot in the head four times while she lay in bed. That makes 27 victims. A private funeral was held Thursday in New Hampshire for Nancy Lanza, according to Donald Briggs, the police chief in Kinston, N.H., where her funeral was held. About 25 family members attended the ceremony. No one outwardly blames Nancy Lanza for the rampage. But authorities have said her 20-year-old son used the guns she kept at their home to carry out a massacre that became the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history and has stirred lawmakers to call for gun control laws. The dearth of tributes to Nancy Lanza underscores the complicated mix of emotions surrounding her after the shooting. In a small town where multiple funerals are taking place each day, where black-clad mourners stand in lines waiting to say goodbye to another child, many are incredibly angry at Nancy Lanza for not keeping her guns away from her son. Some view her as a victim, but one whose guns were used to kill first-graders. And others think Nancy Lanza was an innocent victim, one who should be counted and included at memorials. "It's a loss of life and, yes, her life mattered," said Christine Lombardi. "Yes, I do believe she should be included." Others in Newtown are weary of the crush of media and have become reluctant to answer questions after a difficult week. But the subject of marking Nancy Lanza's death, along with those of the children and teachers killed by her son, seemed mainly to surprise two moms who stopped to place flowers at the memorial at Main and Sugar streets with their two grammar-school aged girls. They paused, appeared bewildered, and looked at each other for a moment. Then one quietly said, "No, no," and they each took a girl's hand and led them away. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions