Saturday, December 15, 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary shooting Connecticut/ USA

Newtown, CT 121412 Aftermath in the town of Newtown, CT after the fatal shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT where a 24-year old man opened fire killing 20 children and several other people on December 14, 2012. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I got the call at 12:40 and I was on the road by 1:20PM arrived at the scene after 4:00PM due to traffic. By the time I arrived police where not allowing media to drive into town so I parked in the outskirts of town and walked in. The school is still a crime-scene area under investigation so it is being kept pretty tight. The church service tonight was the first time the town residents had the opportunity to grieve and to try to process the tragedy as a community. Tonight I was ashamed of being a journalist after seeing how TV cameras and even some still photographers forced those attending the service to walk through a gauntlet of lights and flashes. Some TV camera people backpedaled in front of parents carrying their children barely allowing for space for the parents to be able to walk. Shameful indeed. I consider this a complete lack of respect on the part of journalists... the worst part is because I've covered scenes like this one in the past- Columbine- I know it will get worst for the people in town as the days progress. Today I tried to stay at a respectful distance while hopefully still telling the story with my images. And when I did get close is because things happened right in front of me where I was waiting. TECH STUFF: ISO 6,400+, D3 and D3s, 24-70mm 2.8 and 70-200mm 2.8 + 1.4 WB Auto

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing.

Paul Keebler said...

Well done and well said, Essdras. You shouldn't have to cover one of these in your lifetime, and certainly not two. After Columbine, I think people in Denver are more affected by these events. The Aurora theater shooting brought memories of Columbine flooding back. And now this ...

mr mason said...


Emily Parkers Facebook account was set up five hours after the shootings. With bank account already set up to receive charitable donations. Before her parents even knew she was DEAD! No media will report this. This is not a negative comment about the deaths of innocent people, but a question of how this could be possible. Questions about this will be removed from the page by the 24/7 monitor, will be removed from twitter, ect. Where is the freedom of speech. Where is the Media.
http://myfavoritemason.com/sandy-hook/emily-parker-facebookfund/