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Sandy Hook mother recounts son’s bravery ‘saving classmates’ lives’ before being killed
Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse was murdered in one of the worst mass shootings in US history, has revisited her "torturous" tragedy 10 years on as she revealed how her six-year-old died a hero saving nine of his classmates' lives. It comes after Salvador Ramos stormed into the class at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday morning and fired multiple rounds from two AR-style rifles he had purchased legally just days after he turned 18-years-old. The Texas gunman barricaded himself inside a fourth-grade classroom before he opened fire and killed 19 children and two teachers, law enforcement officials revealed. Ramos was later shot dead by officers who eventually made their way into the classroom. Scarlett Lewis is the founder of Choose Love Movement, an initiative created in the wake of her son's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. Ms Lewis said she lived the "torturous hours" experienced by parents of the Uvalde victims. "I was living the experience right alongside all of those parents when they were waiting to get word whether their child was going to be found dead or alive – those hours, those torturous hours," she told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan. "My first thought this morning was how they would wake up, and for one split second forget, and then this crushing blow would come down on them – their child was dead." The mother-turned-activist then recounted the events leading to up to the death of her own son during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. "When the shooter had shot his way through the glass doors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, he made a left down the first-grade hallway - of course he knew where that was because he had attended that school," she said. "The principal and guidance counsellor were meeting with a parent, they were startled, they opened the door to see what the noise was all about, they were gunned down and then the shooter turned into Jesse's first-grade classroom. "Everyone was scattered, his gun actually ran out of bullets at that time, and during the short delay it took him to change his clip, Jesse called for his classmates to run. "He is credited with saving nine of his classmates' lives before losing his own – no child should ever be asked to do that in school." Ms Lewis said it is "our responsibility" to address children's well-being and it's time to start making them a priority.
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