A $100 million claim against Connecticut state education officials is the first legal action to come out of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 26 people, including 20 children, dead two weeks ago.
The claim was filed this week on behalf of a 6-year-old survivor, referred only to as Jill Doe, it was revealed yesterday. The child heard “cursing, screaming and shooting” over the school intercom on Dec. 14 when the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, opened fire, according to the claim filed by New Haven-based attorney Irv Pinsky.
“As a consequence, the . . . child has sustained emotional and psychological trauma and injury, the nature and extent of which are yet to be determined,” the claim said.
Pinsky said he filed a claim on Thursday with state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr., whose office must give permission before a lawsuit can be filed against the state.
“We all know it’s going to happen again,” Pinsky said yesterday. “Society has to take action.”
Pinsky’s claim said that the state Board of Education, Department of Education and education commissioner had failed to take appropriate steps to protect children from “foreseeable harm.”
It said they had failed to provide a “safe school setting” or design “an effective student safety emergency-response plan and protocol.”
Pinsky said he was approached by the child’s parents within a week of the shooting.
The shooting, which also left the gunman dead, has prompted extensive debate about gun control and the suggestion by the National Rifle Association that schools be patrolled by armed guards.