Daughter of Sandy Hook Principal Killed in 2012 Speaks at DNC

The daughter of the Sandy Hook principal killed in the mass school shooting in Newtown in 2012 took the stage during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

Erica Smegielski is the daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, the principal who was killed while trying to protect her young students.

In the months and years since that tragic day in December 2012, Smegielski has become a very public proponent for gun safety measures and against gun violence.

"I should not be here tonight, I don't want to be here tonight," Smegielski said at the convention. "I should be home, like so many Americans watching TV, with my mother as we nominate the first woman to be the president of the United Staes. But my mother was murdered, so I'm here."

She spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Wednesday before Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama.

Smegielski has been active in the Clinton campaign. She was featured in the ad for Hillary Clinton called “My Mom” and she introduced Clinton during a campaign stop in Hartford, where the primary topic was gun violence.

The speech comes the evening after Clinton formally captured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy says he's "furious" about the lack of progress on gun control in the years since 20 first-graders and six adults were killed at the Connecticut school.

Murphy says Republicans in Congress have done "absolutely nothing to prevent the next massacre."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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