Only a Doctor Can Declare Someone Dead in Connecticut - Wolfgang Halbig Debunked

“Who declared all those 26 people dead within the first 11 minutes? Connecticut law states that only a doctor can declare them dead, legally dead.” - Wolfgang Halbig, Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theorist

 

While a physician's formal declaration of death has a place in Connecticut law, using the term as it relates to response to a Mass Casualty Incident such as Sandy Hook Elementary School is word-smithing, more akin to children's magic show props than knowledge of Mass Causality Incidences and emergency medicine.

Connecticut Law
In the state of Connecticut, resuscitative measures must be started on a patient that is not breathing or is in cardiac arrest unless certain criteria are met.
(Note: A comprehensive list of references are available at the end of this article, below.)

One of those criteria is a licensed Connecticut physician or authorized nurse has the authority to declare a patient dead.  When that situation occurs, resuscitative measures need not be undertaken or may be discontinued.

For the average Sandy Hoax conspiracy theorist of little or no experience or training of modern MCI response, such as Wolfgang Halbig, James Fetzer, or Sofia Smallstorm, that is where they stop in their research and understanding of a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) and more specifically, Connecticut law and MCI protocols. 

However, that is not where Connecticut law stops. Connecticut EMS protocol follows "presumption of death" guidelines as it relates to the "average" trauma scene.  A victim that has suffered certain mortal wounds need not be treated.  For example: if the victim is beheaded or has other certain conditions considered "wounds incompatible with life", EMS need not provide resuscitation measures.  Likewise, in those instances, a physician need not declare those victims dead. The victim is presumed dead by the EMS responders. 1  

One must still go farther than that when discussing Sandy Hook, because "presumption of death" protocols change for a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI).

Connecticut Law:
Effective August 1, 2007 the state of Connecticut mandated the SMART triage tagging system for all MCIs. 2

Sandy Hook Elementary:
According to the final report, the Director of EMS for Danbury Hospital was on scene and pursuant to Connecticut mandate, SMART  triage was followed. 3   Further, the aforementioned document here has a specific section beginning on page 104 specifically detailing MCIs for North Central Connecticut EMS personnel, the jurisdiction covering the response that day.  SMART triage tagging is specifically discussed based on Connecticut mandate.

What is SMART triage?


The SMART triage system mandated in Connecticut follows certain mathematical criteria to determine when SMART Triage will be used. Essentially, it boils down to a formula of conditions, numerous casualties, and those casualties exceeding the number of responders. In that case, responders try to do the most good with the limited resources on hand.

Connecticut EMS Guidelines previously referenced put it this way:

Multi-Casualty and “Mass Casualty” traditionally are interchangeable terms in Connecticut. Connecticut’s Term references an incident that meets locally defined thresholds in accordance with the jurisdiction emergency response plan.

• Large numbers of injured persons
• Large multi-agency response teams
• Inherently hazardous environments
• High stress environments

That describes the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the initial response perfectly because there were 29 casualties, the number of shooters had not been ascertained, the scene was an active shooter response to a school, hundreds needed to be rescued, and numerous agencies responded. Add frantic parents and a hounding press to the extent of the injuries within the school;  Sandy Hook Elementary was a high-stress Mass Casualty Incident in every sense of the term.

Responding personnel had been specifically trained in how to manage a MCI, following SMART triage guidlines since it was mandated 2007.  The mandated protocol was implemented on December 14, 2012, and SMART triaging of victims was followed.

"Black Tagged"

So what did that mean for victims?  Well, to put it directly, those victims, who were shot multiple times and were unresponsive and not breathing, they were "black tagged" and therefore "presumed dead" by first responders.  Only two of the children who were shot that day were breathing, and they were evacuated to Danbury Hospital, the pediatric trauma center for Connecticut.  Those two children perished.   There were two  teachers who suffered non-life threatening gun shot wounds and they were also evacuated to the hospital.  Those two teachers survived.

Every other victim was shot dead, and that presumption made in accordance with law and mandates, and that was done on scene. The victims had suffered devastating wounds incompatible with life. This is documented in statement after statement by responding personnel.

Why is this system followed? Because the survival rate of a patient with traumatic penetrating injury who is unresponsive and unable to breath on their own is virtually nil. 5 In a scene of this magnitude, with scant resources available at the first responder level, that is the way it is done. That IS the law.

Wolfgang Halbig, displaying his lack of MCI knowledge, has claimed this was malpractice.   Malpractice is negligence.  For there to be negligence, there must be a breach of the standard of care.  In this instance, the standard of care in a MCI is mandated by state law and that standard of care was met.  Therefore, the is no negligence, there is no malpractice.

So, to answer the Conspiracy Theorist's question, "Who 'declared' the victims dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School that day?" EMS did, and they did so in accordance with Connecticut Law.  A doctor's certification of death was not necessary because that is NOT the law in Connecticut.






References:
1 http://www.ctemscouncils.org/downloads/NCEMS_BLS_Guidelines.pdf
2.http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/ems/pdf/communication_statements/2007_04_SMART_Triage_System_for_Connecticut.pdf   and http://military.smartmci.com/news/connecticut_mandates_smart_triage.php
3. Statement of M. Cassevechia, EMT-P, Connecticut Final Report, Book 6 Document 2113.
4. http://sitelwordpresstest.sitelms.org/teachingsurgery/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2013/08/cpr-after-trauma.pdf
5. And in-depth review of a START triage system may be reviewed here: http://www.emsconedonline.com/PDFs/STARTTriage.pdf
6. http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/agency_regulations/sections/pdfs/title_07._municipalities/07-2._pronouncement_of_death_by_a_rn.pdf
7. http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/ems/pdf/communication_statements/2010_07_Guidelines_for_EMS_Determination_of_Death.pdf
8. http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/32551/Healthcare/New+Law+Permits+Registered+Nurses+To+Sign+Death+Certificates+When+They+Are+Authorized+To+Pronounce+Death

Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis Part 3: The Deadliest Minute in Mass Shooting History

Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis Part 3: The Deadliest Minute
 
In this analysis series, I am going to put to writing my analysis as I first discussed Sandy Hook: The Deadliest Minute.  This series of blog posts will examine the shooters gear up and a step by step analysis of the shooting according to the report and other relevant evidence.

Part 1 - Sandy Hook Shooting Analysis: The Gear

Part 2 - Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis: The Animal Attacks - Room 10 is first.

Adam Lanza, hereinafter referred to as "shooter", is standing in Room 10. Having followed his pattern of ejecting one live round in loading the weapon, he has 29 rounds in his rifle. It is about 9:36 am.  He heads out of Room 10, continuing eastward and runs to Room 8.

Room 6 - Similar restroom to Room 8

Room 8, consisting of two teachers and 16 children, is in a panic and trying to cram themselves into the small restroom in the south west corner of the classroom.  The restroom is very small, closet sized restroom; according to the report it is 4'7" X 3'6". The restroom door swings inward, making the door nearly impossible to close. An inward swinging door and a restroom crammed full of kids was a deadly combination in this instance.

There are reports from the children that throughout the shooting, the shooter was angry and was yelling while he was shooting.  The angry man was coming.  The door closes behind him as he enters.

This wasn't a target shooting session requiring skill or marksmanship, it was a matter of pulling the trigger at close range.  No one could miss.

Before we try assimilate what happens after the shooter opens fire, let's analyze the data.  It is important to understand that what happened in Room 8 was a massacre of war crime proportions; however, to get there we analyze backwards from the data released by the Connecticut State Police. 

There were 80 casings in Room 8. This indicates the shooter fired 80 rounds inside that classroom.  There were three magazines on the floor of Room 8.  One magazine was empty.  One magazine had 10 rounds remaining. One magazine had 13 rounds.  There was one live round on the floor.  1, 2



If we observe the position of the casings, as noted by the dots in the image below, and understand the above data, the picture of what happened becomes clear.

The shooter entered Room 8 marching to a firing position and opened fire. He fires all 29 rounds from his magazine into the teachers and children and ejects the empty magazine.  Rounds pierce one body and enter the next or slap into the tile wall.   Instinctively, those still alive are cowering under the withering fire.  At the rate of fire heard on the 911 calls, firing the 29 rounds likely took about 10-15seconds.

He quickly loads another magazine into the weapon. In doing so, he ejects a live round on the ground. He fires 19 more rounds.  The rifle stops firing, likely suffering a condition called a "failure to feed", whereby the magazine fails to feed the next round into the chamber.

To remedy the failure to feed, the shooter ejects the magazine with 10 rounds remaining.  He is advancing as he fires. The shooter is firing quickly, aiming for heads and chests.

The shooter has ranked dozens of mass murders based on kills on a spread sheet. This killing has been his obsession for years.  He wants kills, he wants to be in the records, and firing at close range, he ensures his victims are shot dead.

Loading a third magazine, at near point blank range, he fires 17 rounds. The weapon again stops firing.  He ejects that magazine with 13 rounds remaining.  He loads a fourth magazine and fires 15 more rounds before the the weapon again stops firing.

That represents the eighty shots fired as indicated by the eighty casings in the room, matching the physical evidence as provided in the report. The dust from the tile walls, hammered with rounds as they piece the bodies, has coated the rifle with a white power.


Both teachers, Lauren Rousseau and Rachael D'Avino are dead and laying just on the outermost section of the doorway of the small closet sized restroom. The teachers died attempting to shield the children.  Fourteen first grade children are dead: Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Josephine Gay, Ana Marquez-Green, Madeline Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski,  James Mattioli, Grace Mcdonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, and Caroline Previdi. Ben Wheeler has a pulse and is breathing; however, he is unconscious. He will be carried to an ambulance by an officer and will be pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital.  The sole survivor of the massacre in Room 8, a girl, had been hiding in the corner of the restroom playing dead. She is uninjured.  A witness statement in the report who saw the girl rescue reports she is completely covered in blood and flesh. 


The devastation takes less than 2 minutes and is the deadliest minute of mass shooting history.

I need to digress for a moment because the subject of the victims and their wounds serves as a source of confusion.

Just what carnage is wrought firing 80 rounds into a pile of first graders? Since it is truly unimaginable, our mind cannot accept the truth.  We can't believe it. We can't understand it. We can't grasp it. Those who saw it will never recover from it.  How can the human mind fathom it? This is an inhumane inhuman atrocity.

The truth is the 5.56mm round is designed to kill people. That is it's purpose.

First, start from the beginning.  This round has been the primary service round for our military since the 1960's. Over 50 years of service.  Police forces nationwide utilize this weapon.  Many of our allies, those that can afford it, utilize this weapon.  Why? The round is highly effective at dispatching it's target and has withstood the test of time and war.  The AR15 style weapon firing this round is extremely accurate, effective, and deadly. Here, the shooter is firing at near point blank distances. He cannot miss.

The victims, all shot multiple times with "kill shots" are dead.  In first responder terms, they suffered "wounds incompatible with life", another term used is "Black", a term taken from from the mass casualty trauma tag put on victims without respiration during a mass casualty incident.  These are the "clean" terms to describe little bodies that have been torn to pieces by an effective weapon.

I believe some may not be aware of the damage caused by this round. Some imagine a gun shot like on TV, cartoons, or a spaghetti western.   These same  people wonder why these victims were not taken to helicopters.  The truth is, the Animal didn't just kill them. He over-killed them.  Just as he shot his mother in the head 4 times; just as he stood over the bodies of Hochsprung and Sherlach and fired multiple times into them, long after they were obviously dead, he shot the victims in Room 8 three to eleven times, and they were very dead.

 I debated whether to put some links to wounds caused by a 5.56 mm round; I decided to do so because it is important to this event.  Do you want the truth? Can you handle the truth?  Take these photos and  apply these 3-11 of these wounds over these little six year old bodies, to their head, their chest, their stomachs, and you get your answer. 

* Extremely GRAPHIC PHOTOS*
 Click Here 1      Click Here 2     Click Here 3    Click Here 4     Click Here 5
Click Here  6    Click Here 7

This is the horrific scene these first responders faced, and still face everyday in post traumatic condition.  There was no saving these victims. There was nothing the responding police and EMS could do except limit exposure of the carnage by ensuring limited access to the scene.  Ambulances  were not needed for these teachers and children. They were dead.

The air inside the room would be nearly unbreathable due to the gun powder.  The shooter retreats to the hallway, gasping for breath, overjoyed at the success of his mission.  Based on his extensive study, he knows this is going in the record books, he will be famous. Instinctively, he heads east; he wants to go to his next target, he wants to kill more children. However, his rifle is not operational. He can hear the police sirens in the parking lot and coming from a distance and knows the police are closing in.  In the hallway, he is attempting to get his rifle in operation.

The shooter ejects four live rounds on the hallway floor in an attempt to get this overheating rifle into operation before he finally discards the magazine on the floor. There were 11 rounds left in the magazine.

The shooter then retreats back into Room 10.  He surveys the scene and takes in the devastation he has caused, planned for over two years.   He looks again at Victoria Soto, Jessie Lewis, and the others dead on the floor.   He puts a new magazine of 30 rounds into his weapon and finally gets it loaded. The police are coming.  On chat forums he has mocked mass shooters who were 'stupid enough' to allow themselves to be captured. He will not suffer that fate.



He moves to the area of Room 10's restroom. Huddling inside the restroom are a first grade boy and a girl.  Luckily for them, he wont turn the door knob.  Slightly disoriented. He starts firing again.  He fires 15 rounds in staggered succession.  Some of hi
rounds strike the Christmas decorations on the windows. 







Again, the rifle stops firing.  Angrily, he discards the weapon onto the floor, there is 1 round in the chamber and 14 rounds in the magazine.   49 rounds were fired in his two trips into Room 10, evidenced by the 49 casings documented officers.  34 rounds were fired in his first trip and 15 rounds in his second trip.

The shooter pulls his Glock-20 10mm pistol from the drop holster on his leg. The pistol is jammed from previous firing. This could be caused by the weak, anorexic stature of the shooter and an effect known as "limp wristing"; whereby the force holding the weapon is not enough to secure the weapon as it cycles another round.  The shooter ejects four live pistol rounds onto the floor of Room 10, in frustration, unable to load the weapon, before he finally getting a round to seat.  He puts the pistol to the back of his head, satisfied with his mission, and fires in an upwards trajectory.  Parts of his brain spray the paper at the top of the white board displaying yet more Christas decorations, near Victoria Soto's writing of the date, December 14, 2012.

Several responding officers heard the final volley of shots and those shots and the suicide shot are recorded on two 911 calls: Janitor Rick Thorne's call and the parent in Room 9.  The Animal falls dead at 9:40:03. The rampage is over.

The school is completely silent. The shooters body in the fetal position near the doorway.  Hair and blood are on the hole in his hat. The smell of gun power wafts through the halls.

Newtown officers are making their way into the building.  They see two bodies in the north hall way and a man in the south hallway, the janitor Rick Thorn. He is on the phone with dispatch. He relays the police message that there are "two down". Their radios are not transmitting well inside this building.  The officers see and immediately recognize the casings on the ground. They know their bullet proof vests are of little use versus the weapon being used in the school.  In active shooter formation, they press in, waiting to be ambushed. Soon, the rescue begins.



References
 1.

 

2.

Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis Part 2: The Animal Attacks - Room 10 is first.

Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis
Part 2: The Animal Attacks - Room 10 is first.

In this analysis series, I am going to put to writing my analysis as first discussed Sandy Hook: The Deadliest Minute.  This series of blog posts will examine the shooters gear up and a step by step analysis of the shooting according to the report and other relevant evidence.

Part 1: Sandy Hook Shooting Analysis: The Gear
Part 3: Sandy Hook: The Deadliest Minute in mass shooting history

At some point in the morning hours of December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza (hereinafter referred to as the shooter) shot his mother in the head four times.  One of those shots was through the bifurcation of her eye lid, the other 3 shots were in her forehead and orbital region of her head.  The shots were fired at point blank range.   1

The shooter then drove his black Honda Civic to Sandy Hook Elementary School.  As there is some confusion, it should be understood that the automobile was purchased by Peter Lanza for the shooter as part of the divorce agreement. The auto was in Nancy's Lanza's name as she dealt with the registration and insuring of the vehicle (see page 34).  The shooter had removed all items from the car, including his Garmin GPS, registration paperwork, CD's, gun shop notes, etc. and placed it in a white garbage bag he left in the house.  2 Other than weapons, the car was completely empty.  

The shooter drove and parked his vehicle next to the "No Parking Zone" outside of the school.  This parking area was outside of the immediate line of sight of staff in the office. 

There are no know witnesses to shooter's arrival. It is not known if the car was there when a parent entered the school and was buzzed in at about 9:30 and then walked down the hall; however, after entering the school, she heard gun fire. 3

The car doors were found open and two black jackets were discarded on the ground near the vehicle.  Based on the photographic evidence, I have deduced, he likely wore a black sweat jacket to cover his weapons vest.  He exited the driver's door, leaving it open, and discarded the jacket as he quickly walked around the front of the vehicle.  It is possible he either wore a second sweat jacket or was using the second sweat jacket to cover his weaponry in the passenger area of the car. In either case, he discarded a second jacket just outside the vehicle.  

Full armed, as described in Part 1: The Gear, the shooter retrieved his rifle, a Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle.  The rifle had the double taped tactical magazine loaded into it, fully loaded with 30 rounds (times 2). 

The shooter ejected a live round on the ground.  Therefore, at the beginning of the attack he had 29 rounds remaining from his first magazine.

The number of rounds and magazine placement becomes important in computing his path in the school based on a ballistics analysis.


The shooter left a Saiga-12 semi-automatic shotgun in the rear passenger seat of the car along with two additional magazines loaded with 12 guage shotgun ammunition.  A Saiga-12 is patterned after the AK-47; however, it chambers shotgun rounds.  The appearance and style of this weapon  confused many who viewed the familiar footage of the weapon being removed from the vehicle. The shotgun was often confused as a rifle by press and bloggers.



The shooter walked up to the front of the school and fired eight rounds in a circular pattern into the glass to the right of the main entrance doors.



The shooter then quickly enters the school building.  Seeing the shooter, school secretary Barbara Halstead quickly ducks behind her desk.

To retrace the steps of the shooter once inside the school, we will examine ballistic evidence including casings, magazines, and victim placement and match that with the witness statements. When comparing that data and considering the timing involved, his path inside the school is clear.  Evidence maps from the final report are listed under references.  4

Upon hearing the sounds of glass crashing Principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was in a meeting in Conference Room 9 with several staff and a parent, yelled "Stay Put" and exited.  Following her was school psychiatrist Mary Sherlach and in the rear was Lead Teacher Natalie Hammond.

Shells from some of the first
near the office door.

The shooter marched in and seeing the staff coming towards him,  fired 6-7 [see note] rounds.  All 3 educators go down. There is no evidence in the report to suggest Hochsprung or Sherlach ever moved after these shots. Hammond states "she saw Hochsprung and Sherlach fall down in front of her.  [She] felt a a gunshot hit her leg and felt a burning/warming feeling in her lower leg."


 Hammond continues "[I] laid still in the hall way [for] approximately 10 seconds and then looked down the hallway  [and] didnt see the gunman.  [She] crawled led  back into the Room 9 conference room.  5
Down the hallway, Deborah Pisani, a Kindergarten teacher's foot is grazed by a round.  She is the most recognizable victim because she was later video taped being loaded into an ambulance. 

This photo shows Hochsprung and Sherlach
deceased. Responding officers placed the
easel in front of the bodies to shield the

students from viewing the bodies.

Hammond did not see the gunman because he had entered the office.  The school nurse, Sarah Cox reports that after hearing gun fire, she behind her desk.  She observed the gunman enter her office, stand there for a moment, and then quickly exit.

The gunman exited the office.  The report lists that there are 10 rifle casings right next to the bodies of Hochsprung and Sherlach.

Note on casings: 17 casings were found in the hallway area. With the evidence provided in the report it is difficult to determine exactly where the shooter shoot when firing all 17 of them because it appears some of the casings were kicked around during the evacuation.



While the police did not release the forensic examination data for those two victims, this indicates the shooter stood directly over their bodies and at point blank range, fired 10 rounds.  Additionally, he pulled out his Glock 10 mm pistol and fired one round. I believe this struck the doorway area of Room 9, where Hammond and others are huddling in the conference room.



At this time, someone has activated the PA system and the sounds of gun fire echo throughout the school over the system. The entire school is alerted and goes into "Lock Down".

Following their training, all teachers begin huddling their students into corners, when possible, lock or barracade doors, and attempting to keep them calm through various comfort measures.  The acting head janitor, Rick Thorne is working in the south hallway, opposite the shooter, and begins locking doors from the outside and warning classes.

The shooter has ejected one live round near his car and now has fired a total of 25 rounds.  He has 4 rounds remaining in his rifle.  He moves quickly into Room 10.



The shooter moves to the center of the room and opens fire on his first target in Room 10, teacher Victoria Soto.  The classroom has not had time to hide and it appears some of the children are in the area of the restroom and some moving towards the North west corner of the classroom.

The report indicates Soto is found near the north wall. The shooter fires 4 rounds, and based on the casing placement, it appears he was advancing on Soto as he fired; the final fourth shot only a few feet away.  The shooter trains his weapon on others; however, he is out of ammunition. The shooter turns his tactical magazine over.

While the report is silent as to most of the details of the children's injuries, the parents of Jesse Lewis have gone on record to state that that Lewis stood right in front of the shooter and yelled "run" as the shooter reloaded. Several children escape out the door at this time.  Two children, a boy and a girl, hide in the restroom.

The gunman turns his magazine over. The first shot is likely Jesse Lewis.  The shooter shoots him once in the forehead, silencing the brave boy.


School secretary Barbara Halstead calls 911 at 9:35.   The sounds of the shots in Room 10 that are occurring at this time are clearly heard in background of this 911 call.  Another call, made by the parent in Conference Room 9, also document the firing in Room 10.

Following the casing placement as provided in the report, it appears the shooter moves towards his right, cutting off the escape route and opens fire.  He empties his magazine, firing 29 more rounds, killing teacher Ann Murphy, who died attempting to shield boy, reported to be Dylan Hockley.  Hockley, is also killed.  First graders Allison Wyatt are killed Avielle Richman,   Olivia Engel, shown in the graphic as laying under the table in north west corner of the classroom is reported to have been shot once in the neck and is mortally wounded.  Later, she will be carried to an ambulance and pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital.


The escaping Room 10 survivors run up the road. The firehouse is completely locked and empty, the children continue up the road. Some stop and are talking to a bus driver in the yard of neighbor Eugene Rosen. Others continue running and are stopped by a parent, who ultimately takes those children to the Newtown Police Department.


Room 12's first grade teacher Kaitlin Roig and Room 8 substitute teacher Rachael D'avino are mirroring each other in their attempts to hide from the gunman and protect their children.  They are attempting to pack their students into the small restroom located in the southwest corner of their classroom. Roig is successful in getting her children packed into the small restroom.


The shooter, in room 10, drops his empty double magazine on the floor and loads another magazine of 30 rounds. He again ejects a single live round on the floor. 

Room 10 is silent. Nothing is moving.  He has fired 34 rounds inside this classroom.

He is not done.  Room 8 is next.  He knows he needs to move quickly; the police station is only a few miles away.

This will be covered in Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis Part 3: The Deadliest Minute.





References and Data:

1 doc Sec 8 Autopsy Report of Nancy Lanza

2.doc Sec 11 - Evidence Report
3. Book 5 6236
4. CFS120070459 Document # 18466 &  235016

5. Book 5 #256630

Sandy Hook School Shooting Analysis: The Shooters Gear

Part 1: The Gear Up

In this analysis series, I am going to put to writing my analysis as I first discussed Sandy Hook: The Deadliest Minute.  This series of blog posts will examine the shooters gear up and a step by step analysis of the shooting according to the report.

Part II - The Animal Attacks - Room 10 is first
Part III -  The Deadliest Minute in Mass Shooting History

There is still a lot of misinformation and a lot of misunderstanding out there concerning the gear and weapons of the shooter.  The press, the hoaxers, and alleged leaks by law enforcement are responsible for the misinformation. Many believe the shooter* simply could not have carried all the weapons and ammunition that has been reported.

The following claim is repeated by Sandy Hook Hoaxers over and over to the extent it has become lore.  This statement was made here; however, this and similar sentiment has been repeated in podcast, in other writings, and in online discussion countless times. 

"How does a 130 pound weakling carry 100 pounds of gear, kick in a security door supposedly shooting it to get in, and yet when the police got on scene they admit the door was in tact and they busted it open?"

That would be quite a feat indeed; however, that is a theft and twist of the truth and reality.  Let's discuss the shooters gear.

Clothing

According to the report, the shooter wore:

• Black "Toesox" gloves, size small "1/2 finger".
• Green colored "Eddie Bauer" vest size small with 4 outside pockets and 3 inside pockets.
• Black "Old Navy" polo shirt.
• Black t-shirt
• Black colored "Propper" brand cargo pants size 32R.
•  Black "Nunn Bush" sneakers size 8 1/2
• Camouflage drop holster
• Black web belt and black suspenders
• Yellow foam ear plugs
• Black socks and underwear 
• Black "Booney" hat

Early new reports and the affidavit for search warrant return listed the shooter as wearing at bullet proof vest; however, that initial report was incorrect.  The shooter wore a Eddie Bauer vest.    A photo of the vest the shooter was with held.  The report describes the best as: "Green Colored vest size small with four outside pockets and three inside pockets.  The vest had a full zip front with two snap close breast pockets and two zip close lower front pockets.  There were two velcro close pockets in each inside flap of the vest and one vertical zip close pocket on the inside upper left chest area".

I have been unable to locate an exact match of this vest during an exhaustive web search.

Weapons and Weight
(Book 2 - Document # 143439)

Firearms:

• Bushmaster XM-15 Rifle  5.56mm/.223 rifle - (7 lbs)
• Sig Sauer P226 9mm pistol  (2.15 lbs)
• Glock 20 10mm pistol  (1.72 lbs)

Ammunition:

• 5.56 mm  - 300 Rounds in ten 30 round magazines  + 1 round (10.77 lbs)
• 9 mm - 116 Rounds  in six magazines  (4.36 lbs)
• 10 mm - 90 rounds in six magazines (4.49 lbs)

Total weight of guns and ammunition according to the report:  30.47 lbs

The weapons and ammunition were dispersed as follows:

Rifle Magazines:
 At the start of the attack, the double taped magazine was in the rifle.  The double taped magazine consisted of two 30-round magazines in a tactical configuration.

Two magazines were in each of his lower vest pockets. and two magazines in each of the cargo pockets of his pants.
 

 

Pistol Magazines:
Three pistol magazines were in each of his upper vest breast pockets.  Two pistol magazines were in each of his rear pants pockets.

His Glock 10mm was in a drop holster.
His Sig Sauer 9mm was in his left pants pocket.



*Note the vest shown is for display purposes only.



As you can see, the weight was distributed over his body uniformly.  In his vest was about 7 lbs of weight and the in the pockets of his pants was about 13 lbs of weight plus his pistol in his drop holster and his pistol his his pocket.

It is not likely the weight he was carrying in his hands at any time ever exceeded 9 lbs.  The shooters gear up or "kit" was possible, even for a person of his thin stature.  Further, it is documented the shooter had great stamina and could play "Dance Dance Revolution" for hours and he did not feel pain as others might.


In Part 2, we will look at the attack itself.


Other photos:

 

*The term shooter refers to Adam Lanza.