The nephew of an NYPD lieutenant was among the 20 young children gunned down in yesterday’s Connecticut mass murder at a Connecticut school, a police official said.
The lieutenant — identified by law-enforcement sources as James Giblin of the Midtown South Precinct — was rushed to the killing ground in Newtown by a colleague in a marked NYPD patrol car, the official added.
Before heading up to Sandy Hook Elementary School, Giblin had frantically tried to contact his brother, sources added.
Giblin had recently transferred to the precinct and took off his midnight tour last night, colleagues said.
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One child victim’s name to emerge was that of 7-year-old Ana Grace Marquez, the niece of the mayor of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, according to the newspaper El Nuevo Dia.
“She was barely 7 years old,” Mayor Jorge Marquez said, his voice choked with grief. “We were hoping maybe she was just injured, but her parents just advised us there is no going back.”
Another student identified as Jesse Lewis, 6, is also among the dead, according to his father, Neil Heslin. Lewis’ teacher, Victoria Soto, 27, was shot and killed as she threw herself in front of her students to protect them, according to the Daily Mail.
Two school administrators, Principal Dawn Hochsprung and psychologist Mary Sherlach, were also were among those identified as victims.
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Neighbors described Hochsprung, 47, as friendly and outgoing — and a dedicated educator since arriving in 2010. Sherlach, 56, had worked at the school for 18 years, according to her Web site.
Before Sandy Hook, she worked at other Connecticut schools and at a psychiatric facility and a home for disabled adults.
Sherlach is survived by her husband of 31 years, Bill, and her 25- and 28-year-old daughters.
The only wounded survivor was teacher Natalie Hammond, 40. She underwent surgery after being shot in the arm and leg and is expected to recover.
Authorities did not officially release the identities of any of the children as devastated parents were still being notified.
Additional reporting by Josh Saul and Lia Eustachewich