Teacher who survived Sandy Hook recalls the massacre during convention speech

CHICAGO — A Connecticut teacher who survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Abbey Clements, took the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday and recounted huddling with her schoolchildren in a coat classroom throughout the shooting. 

Her story was part of a larger segment of the convention’s final evening focused on gun violence and Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for stricter gun control measures. It also featured the mother of a young girl killed in the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Hand quivering, Clement said she remembers walking into the school on Dec. 14, 2012 and stopping in the front office where she chatted with Principal Dawn Hochsprung before heading to her second grade classroom. 

“Suddenly a loud crash, like metal folding chairs falling … 154 gunshots blaring,” Clements said. “Hiding in the coats, trying to sing with my students, trying to read to them, trying to drown out the sounds. Terror, crying, running, I carry that horrific day with me.”

The massacre — perpetrated by a young man equipped with a legally purchased AR-15 and two handguns —  took the lives of 20 first grade students and six faculty members, including Hochsprung. 

“They should still be here,” Clements said.

Clements is a gun control advocate from Danbury who co-founded Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence as well as a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, a national group that fights for greater restrictions on gun control. She joined other family victims and survivors of gun violence Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas; Melody McFadden of Charleston, S.C.; and Edgar Vilchez of Chicago on stage for a conversation led by U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia. 

Prior to her election to Congress, McBath’s son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed during a dispute over loud music at a Florida gas station. 

“Make no mistake, our losses do not weaken us, they strengthen our resolve,” McBath said. “We will advocate. We will run for office.”

A short video that aired before the segment highlighted Harris’ support for policies such as universal background checks and red flag laws. Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump, opposed those policies while in office and is endorsed by groups such as the National Rifle Association that have fought most efforts to restrict access to firearms. 

In a brief conversation with CT Insider prior to her speech, Clement said she was “overwhelmed with emotion and very proud and humbled that they’re including the voice of an educator.”

In an earlier interview with the Danbury News-Times in 2022, Clements recalled hearing footsteps on the school roof and being unable to determine who was making the sounds. Only later did she learn that they had come from the SWAT officers coming to help.

“It was the worst thing you could ever imagine — the horror, the panic, the fear, the crying,” Clements said. “Your brain is trying to protect you from what you are experiencing, and I remember holding my ears, not wanting to know what everyone was trying to figure out.”

Clements was the second person from Connecticut to speak from the stage at the convention. Sen. Chris Murphy, himself a staunch advocate for gun control, delivered a speech on immigration policy Wednesday evening.