Home of Sandy Hook shooter to be destroyed
It’s been three years since a tragic shooting took the lives of 20 school children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Masen Matthews
Since then, much of the community has rebuilt and resumed normal life, but one thing remained and acted as a grave symbol for the event: the home of Adam Lanza, the shooter. The Newtown Legislative Council decided to take action and voted unanimously to demolish the home in the near future.
One of the central reasons for the demolition of Lanza’s home is public pressure to do so. Nearby residents were concerned with it, and the property was in the hands of the city after it was donated by the bank that possessed it. According to NPR, neighbors noted the structure impacted the grieving process, and continued to serve as a grim reminder of the tragedy.
The Newtown Legislative Council is taking an undeniably necessary step to restoring normal life for a chunk of residents in the area. One might argue it’s unjust to tear down a livable residence, but the superficiality of such a home isn’t worth the wellbeing of people living in the neighborhood. Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished as well, so it only makes sense for this to follow suit, especially when the house continues to hurt many in the community.
The structure of Lanza’s home itself wasn’t the only concern of Sandy Hook residents. After the event, his home became a tourist attraction for a lot of people, and the lingering of people outside of it created issues for neighbors as well. The flow of foot traffic was unpleasant for a lot of residents.
It also creates issues within a neighborhood as far as property values and movability are concerned. From all perspectives, there’s a lack of any real reasoning to keep the house up. Demolishing the home could finally lay all of the commotion to rest, leave neighbors at ease and help a community move on from an incomprehensible tragedy.
While it’s unfortunate to tear down such a nice home — CNN reports it was estimated to be worth upwards of $500,000 — it’s definitely the right decision. Once it’s gone, the community and neighborhoods surrounding it can hopefully find a way to put things back together again and resume life without a constant reminder of the horrific events that shook their community and the nation.
Masen Matthews can be reached at [email protected]