Newtown in mourning, inundated with gifts

Published 4:55 pm Monday, December 24, 2012

Associated Press

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Peter Leone was busy making deli sandwiches and working the register at his Newtown General Store when he got a phone call from Alaska. It was a woman who wanted to give him her credit card number.
“She said, ‘I’m paying for the next $500 of food that goes out your door,’” Leone said. “About a half hour later another gentleman called, I think from the West Coast, and he did the same thing for $2,000.”
Money, toys, food and other gifts have poured in from around the world as Newtown mourns the loss of 20 children and six school employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School a little over a week ago. The 20-year-old shooter, Adam Lanza, killed his mother before attacking the school then killing himself. Police don’t know what caused him to massacre first-graders, teachers, school staff or his mother.
Saturday, all the town’s children were invited to town hall to choose from among hundreds of toys donated by individuals, organizations and toy stores.