Frantic parents yesterday converged on Newtown’s firehouse, where too many of them were devastated by the worst possible news — their kids had died in a madman’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“They were sobbing, yelling and throwing themselves on the floor,” said Robert Weiss, a pastor who came to help.
He said one mother began crying after a cellphone alarm — set to remind her to take her little boy to a Cub Scouts meeting — started to ring.
“She realized she wouldn’t be able to do that again,” Weiss said.
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Even parents whose kids were alive grieved for friends in the small, close-knit town who would never see their kids again.
“There was a lot of holding, consoling and praying with them,’’ Weiss said.
It was a horrible thing for this town — and for the country. It’s horrible that such evil could exist in Sandy Hook.’’
As soon as the worried moms and dads gave their names at the door, they got a hint of what to expect. Parents of the living were taken to one room — where all of the children who had escaped were waiting.
“Everybody was running toward their kids,” said Peter Nikolis, 44, who learned his 8-year-old daughter was safe.
Carrie Battaglia, 39, was also one of the lucky ones. She spotted her 6- and 8-year-old daughters in what she described as a “mob scene’’ — then breathed a sigh of relief.
“We’re so thankful our kids are OK,’’ she said, crying. “I wouldn’t think anything like this would ever happen.”
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Her husband, David, later described the scene at the firehouse.
“Parents were trying to find their children,’’ he said. “They didn’t know what was going on.’’
Teachers had divided up their pupils by class to do a head count. They gave out crackers and water to calm the youngsters.
Cops were seen escorting at least 10 heartbroken family members from the firehouse to a police vehicle.
“Each family has been assigned a trooper so they can get information first,” said Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police.
Police Officer George Sinco said, “We just have to think about the families right now and do everything we can for them.’’
The parents had been directed to the firehouse, just yards away from the school, by voice mail messages from the school superintendent.
At one point, the parents were visited there by Gov. Dan Malloy, who relayed to them the unthinkable casualty toll.