The state plans to release additional information next week on the investigation into the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, Gov. Dannel Malloy said on Thursday and he said he is “bewildered” by House Republican Leader Larry Cafero’s request for a special briefing.
State Police Colonel Danny Stebbins recently spoke at the International Association of Police Chiefs and Colonels mid-year meeting and told other officers about an elaborate spreadsheet the shooter had in his home documenting mass shootings, according to a report published on Monday in the New York Daily News.
That column prompted House Republican Leader Larry Cafero to call on police to release preliminary details on the investigation. He said police have an obligation to provide the same details presented during that conference to the public as well.
In response to the reports, Lt. Paul Vance, of Connecticut State Police, released a statement.
"The families of the victims continue to be a priority in this investigation and this fact was clearly stated at the seminar," Vance said. "It is unfortunate that someone in attendance chose not to honor Colonel Stebbins’ request to respect the families’ right to know specifics of the investigation first."
Malloy also said he was disappointed that certain information was “leaked.”
“Like many others, I was disappointed and angered to learn that certain information about the Newtown shooting had been leaked, specifically with concern for the victim’s families who may have been hearing this news for the first time,” Malloy said in a statement.
He said his office has contacted the Chief State’s Attorney and asked that release additional information relevant to the investigation be released and to provide a status on where the investigation currently stands. The Chief State’s Attorney has agreed and the information will be provided by Friday, March 29, Malloy said.
“As to what information can reasonably be shared at this time – that is a question that must be left to the State’s Attorney and other law enforcement. As a former prosecutor, I’m sensitive to the need for an independent investigation and believe that we must allow their work to continue without any undue interference,” Malloy said.
Malloy, a Democrat, also questioned what information House Republican Leader Cafero and other lawmakers need to address legislation.
“Having said all that, I will also say that I am bewildered by the demands of Mr. Cafero and others for a special briefing they claim is necessary in order for them to take a firm position on potential legislative responses to this horrific tragedy,” Malloy said. “To Mr. Cafero and those others I must ask: what more could you possibly need to know? We know for a fact that on December 14, a very disturbed young man took a military-style rifle with high-capacity magazines into a school and murdered 20 innocent children and six innocent adults. We know he had access to that weapon and others, although they were registered to someone else.”
Malloy unveiled his own set of gun control proposals in February http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Malloy-Unveils-His-Own-Gun-Control-Proposals--192290871.html and said this week that he was disappointed that the assault weapons ban was excluded from legislation the U.S. Senate is considering.
“Today, more than three months later, the vast majority of people in Connecticut can agree on some simple, common-sense things we can do – right now – to ban the sale of the weapon he used, to outlaw the high-capacity magazines he used, and to put in place systems that will make it much more difficult for a weapon like that to fall into the wrong hands,” Malloy said in a statement released on Thursday.
