St. Rose of Lima Threat: Church of School Gunman Adam Lanza Evacuated
Multiple threats have been reported in the aftermath of Friday's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which saw 20 children and 6 adults gunned down by a lone shooter. In the latest incident, a Newtown church attended by the killer and his family in the past, has been evacuated following a telephoned threat on the house of worship.
On Sunday morning St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, Conn. was evacuated, following the phone threat, with one man warning in a call that he would attend the noon mass and open fire.
"He started talking about 'I'm coming to kill, I'm coming to kill'," a priest who worked at the church said, according to reports.
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The church was evacuated after the unidentified caller was deemed a "credible threat."
"My friend didn't finish the job," the caller said, according to the church official who spoke with Yahoo News. The official explained that the caller said it was his intention to "kill everyone."
Police responded with a S.W.A.T. team and formed a perimeter around the church.
"Approximately a dozen police and SWAT officers surrounded a white building just west of the church, taking cover behind trees with guns drawn," a Yahoo News report stated.
The area was cleared at around 1:15 p.m. local time, according to the reports, although police did not offer any further information about the caller.
"I'm just sad that these people needed to be at Mass today and that this had to happen," Monsignor Robert Weiss said during an interview with OraTV. "This is just hard for parents to be able to explain to their children."
The church is the same one that was attended by shooter Adam Lanza and his mother, according to the Daily Freeman. It has now emerged that Lanza shot his mother dead at their residence on Friday morning before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary School and shooting his way into the building to kill 26 people, including 20 first grade children. Lanza shot and killed himself after his massacre.
Other threats have also emerged since Friday. In Indiana a man threatened this weekend "to kill as many people as he could" at an elementary school near his home. Police later found 47 guns and ammunition hidden in the home.
Another man was arrested in Newport Beach, California on Saturday after firing at least 50 shots in a mall parking lot, terrifying Christmas shoppers.
