Sandy Hook school evacuated over threat on anniversary of gun massacre
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Police standing guard at the entrance to Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK (AFP) - US elementary school Sandy Hook, the scene of a horrific shooting that left 26 children and teachers dead, was evacuated on Friday (Dec 14) after receiving a bomb threat on the sixth anniversary of the massacre.
A police spokesman from Newton, Connecticut told AFP all of the students were evacuated without incident.
A police search of the premises did not turn up an explosive device, though school administrators closed the institution for the day as a precaution.
The scare occurred exactly six years after the Dec 14, 2012 slaughter that saw gunman Adam Lanza, 20, enter the school with an assault rifle and shoot dead 20 six- and seven-year-olds along with six teachers, before ending his own life.
The shocking tragedy gripped the nation and sparked renewed calls for stronger arms legislation including from former president Barack Obama - though no meaningful action has been taken since.
The school building was demolished in 2013 and completely reconstructed, with reinforced security and a memorial in the school yard's garden.
As they do every year, Newtown residents honored the memory of the victims by observing a moment of silence on Friday morning to mark when Lanza entered the school.
