Conspiracy Theories Of The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was one of the most horrific school shootings in our country in the last five years. Over the course of these years people have came out with many conspiracy theories that explain many different reasons why the shooting happened or what “actually” happened. The people that have came out with these conspiracies call themselves the Sandy Hook Truther Movement. Some of these conspiracies give reasons that there were multiple shooters, the shooter, Adam Lanza, died the day before the shooting, that crisis actors were used to give interviews to the media, the school nurse “got her script wrong” and that Adam Lanza did not use an assault rifle to kill the victims.

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza,

Immediately after the shooting occurred, law enforcement and the media reported that there could have been possibly more than one shooter, which ended up not being true and was addressed. But, there are people who still believe that this information is true (Stuart). Theorists claim that there was a man who was chased in the woods nearby by police and was apprehended, which was all caught on camera. With the footage they are able to make the idea that there was another shooter more believable (Stuart). The truthers also claim that they watched news interviews with witnesses who spoke about a person they saw coming out of the woods wearing camo and a dark jacket being handcuffed by police; most likely the man they saw on the footage. However, many news anchors have pointed out that the man they saw get handcuffed was Chris Manfredonia. He is the the father of a 6-year-old who goes to Sandy Hook and was on his was to the school after he heard “popping sounds”. “The newspaper reports that Manfredonia was briefly handcuffed by police after running “around the school” trying to find his daughter” (Stuart). Another man could have been possibly been mistaken as a gunman as well according to the media’s information. This man had been reported after seeing him in the woods very close to the school with a gun in his possession, but law enforcement informed

Theorists say that actors were employed by the government and the media to give interviews to persuade the country for gun control. One story involves “Gene Rosen, a 69-year-old retired psychologist who sheltered six children who escaped the shooting” (Stuart). He told the media many times how he entertained the children at his house after they ran from Sandy Hook (Hallowell). Theorists claim that he works for the Screen Actors Guild, a professional union of acting professionals. But a different website said that the Gene Rosen who works for the Screen Actors Guild is 62 and the Gene Rosen that lives nearby Sandy Hook is 69, proving that it is not the same person (Hallowell). The theorists also pointed to a company that supplies trained professionals for events like the Sandy Hook shooting (Stuart). “But Crisis Actors, which helps schools and first responders create drills for educational purposes released a statement saying it doesn’t engage its actors “in any real world crisis events” and that none of its performances are presented “at any time as a real world event” (Stuart). Also, there has not been any verified connections with the actors from Crisis Actors and the parents of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. To follow up the conspiracy theory that crisis actors were hired, theorists say that none of the victims’ friends or