Fact Checking “Nobody Died At Sandy Hook”, Appendix C

“Nobody Died At Sandy Hook”
Appendix C
By: James Tracy

At 108 poorly written pages—nearly a quarter of this trainwreck—disgraced former college professor James Tracy’s second contribution to this book manages to stand out as the laziest entry in a collection already notorious for recycling old blog posts verbatim. That’s genuinely impressive!

The chapter is a disjointed compilation of out-of-context snippets from mainstream news articles, presented in something resembling chronological order. There’s little editorializing, leaving me to wonder what exactly crybaby James Tracy believes actually happened at Sandy Hook.

Based on the mishmash of material included here, he seems to endorse a multiple-shooter theory… while simultaneously leaning into the “FEMA drill” narrative. Conveniently for Tracy, this ambiguity helps his claims remain flexible—because when your book’s title (yes, the whole title) is “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook: It Was a FEMA Drill to Promote Gun Control,” there’s not much room for competing hypotheses, is there?

“This scenario became an established reality through the news media’s pronounced repetition of the lone gunman narrative and meme. This proposed scenario significantly obscured the fact that police encountered and apprehended two additional shooting suspects on the school’s grounds within minutes of the crime. These suspects remain unaccounted for by authorities but the roles they may have played arguably correlate with the shifting information presented by authorities and major news media on injuries and weapons vis-à-vis the mass carnage meted out in the school.” pg. 245

Let’s clear this up once and for all: the claim that these two men were ever “unaccounted for,” let alone remain “unaccounted for,” is utterly false. Both individuals—especially Sandy Hook parent Christopher Manfredonia—were immediately identified by police and are thoroughly addressed in Chapter Twelve.

This fabricated mystery surrounding the two men is reminiscent of the “three tramps” fiasco: three homeless men photographed under police escort shortly after JFK’s assassination. Naturally, conspiracy theorists ran wild, with some even claiming the men were Watergate burglars Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis. In 1991, a journalist unearthed their arrest records—quietly released years earlier—proving they were exactly what they appeared to be: transients detained, questioned, and released after four days.

Much like the tramps, the two men at Sandy Hook were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s nothing remarkable about them, no matter how desperately conspiracy theorists wish otherwise.

“Adam Lanza reportedly visits a sporting goods store in Danbury and attempts to purchase an assault rifle but was denied NBC reports.” pg. 251

Police investigated this claim and confirmed it was false. Their findings, including surveillance stills, are documented in the final report’s Book 3, file 00005383.pdf. It’s quite obvious none of them are Adam Lanza.

“The alleged gunman at Adam Lanza has an argument with four staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, officials tell NBC. NBC reports that Lanza went to the school on December 13 and was in an altercation with four staff members, three of whom are killed in the December 14 shooting.” pg. 251

This claim was also investigated by police and proven false. The argument in question involved the parent of a student and had no connection to Adam Lanza. Details can be found in Book 5, files 00001418.pdf and 00257144.pdf.

“‘Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters’ emergency exercise conducted jointly by FEMA and the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection commences 14 miles from Newport in Bridgeport Connecticut. ‘The goal of the course,’ the description reads, is to enable participants to improve their community’s mitigation and emergency operations plan specifically regarding the needs of children. The course will provide them with the information needed to address the unique needs of children prior to, during and following disasters. It will also provide them guidance and direction on how to form coalitions and how to become advocates for the unique needs of children in all aspects of emergency management.” pgs. 251-252

Déjà vu.

FEMA’s “Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters” was not an exercise or a drill—it was a course, and there’s a significant difference. Tracy knows it’s a course; the description he quotes makes that perfectly clear. It’s baffling that a (former) college professor could confuse the two. Then again, Tracy conveniently omits that the course focuses on natural disasters, not mass shootings. This “mix-up” seems less like an innocent mistake and more like deliberate deception.

“‘Active shooter drill’ exercise commences by Putnam County Emergency Response Team in Carmel Connecticut, 45 miles away from Newtown.” pg. 252

This drill actually took place in Carmel, New York. For the record, there is no Carmel, Connecticut. There’s also no Putnam County in Connecticut—though there is a town called Putnam, located in Windham County. Clearly, geography wasn’t on James Tracy’s syllabus.

“Fourth grate teacher Ted Varga arrives for work at Sandy Hook.” pg. 254

Fourth grate? Seriously, did anyone bother to read this garbage before slapping a $20 price tag on it?

“‘They were children in a place built for children, and the teachers didn’t know how to answer them … ‘It’s a drill,’ said a library clerk named Mary Anne Jacobs.'” pg. 254

Judging by the way Tracy butchered this quote, he might want to look into designing movie posters now that he’s no longer welcome at Florida Atlantic University. Unsurprisingly, his chopped-up version of Mary Anne Jacobs’ statement omits crucial context. Here’s the full quote:

They were children in a place built for children, and the teachers didn’t know how to answer them. They told them to close their eyes and to keep quiet. They helped move an old bookshelf in front of the door to act as a makeshift barricade. They wondered: How do you explain unimaginable horror to the most innocent?

“It’s a drill,” said a library clerk named Mary Anne Jacobs.

Drills they knew. Drills they understood.

Of course, that last part—where it’s made abundantly clear why she said “it’s a drill”—was conveniently left out. Shocker.

“Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates citing of shooter suspects fleeing crime scene. ‘Reports that a teacher saw two shadows running past the building–past the gym, which would be rear [inaudible] the shooting.'” pg. 256

Oh, a “citing,” huh? Written by a former college professor, proofread by… what, the school mascot? Who knows. Anyway, while Tracy tries to spin these shadows as potential suspects, they were actually teachers escaping conference room #20 through a window. Custodian Rick Thorne reported this in Book 4, 00184096.pdf:

9:38:57 Rick Thorne reports about someone seeing shadows outside SHES:

Thorne: “Ok, the gym teacher told me they saw shadows going past the gym.”

The shadows are believed to be the teachers in conference room #20 (west hallway), who escaped out the window and ran to the Subway Restaurant on Church Hill Rd. (Newtown 911)

“Newtown and Connecticut emergency fire and law enforcement radio dispatch indicates officers’ encounter with and apprehension of additional shooter suspects fleeing scene. ‘Yeah, we got ’em. He’s comin’ at me down Crestwood Way! Coming [inaudible] up the left side.'” pg. 256

This is about Christopher Manfredonia, a Sandy Hook parent trying to locate his daughter. Manfredonia wasn’t “fleeing the scene”—quite the opposite. Officer Michael McGowan, the first to encounter him, described it as follows:

I saw a male was running from the front of the building to the side. I observed a white, adult male running toward me screaming. I ran down the outside of the chain link fence toward the male. The male had an object in his right hand and was screaming. My pistol was drawn and I pointed it at the male and yelled for him to get on the ground. The male continued to run at me and several more times I ordered him to the ground, which he eventually did. The male said his child was in the school and there was shooting. (Source: Book 6, 00260187.pdf)

McGowan never said, “he’s comin’ at me down Crestwood.” What he actually said was, “Yea we got him… they’re coming at me down Crestwood”—referring to other officers arriving on the scene. (Book 4, 00184096.pdf)

As covered in Chapter Twelve, Manfredonia was briefly detained, interviewed, and released. Nothing mysterious here. Just a frantic parent in a chaotic situation.

“‘Two unidentified nuns’ are photographed by journalist Don Emmert, apparently departing the crime scene at Sandy Hook Elementary. One of the individuals has what appears to be official identification around her/his neck.” pg. 259

Her/his? Yikes. These are clearly older women, unless Tracy is attempting to shade a couple of nuns—which would be impressively low, even by denier standards.

I’ve already covered this in Chapter Five, but to recap: it took maybe five or ten minutes of research to identify the “unidentified” nun wearing a badge. She’s the religious coordinator at nearby St. Rose of Lima School, and the badge is her employee ID. You can even see the school’s crest on it.

Now think about it: if this were an actual drill (and it wasn’t), deniers wouldn’t be combing through photos to find a single person with a badge. Every participant—from law enforcement to role players—would be wearing one.

“11:23AM Reuters’ Deputy Social Media Editor Matthew Keys reports police have told ABC News that two gunman are involved in the elementary school shooting.” pg. 260

Matthew Keys’s Twitter feed that morning is a perfect example of the kind of erroneous information that runs rampant in the 24-hour news cycle, especially during major breaking stories. This phenomenon isn’t unique to Keys; it’s an industry-wide issue. For anyone struggling to understand why this happens so often, I recommend No Time to Think by Howard Rosenberg and Charles Feldman, which explores this unfortunate reality in depth.

“‘Lieutenant Governor and I have been spoken to in an attempt that we might be prepared for something like this playing itself out in our state.’ The remark may be in reference to ‘Project Longevity,’ a joint effort of the US Department of Justice and Connecticut announced on November 27 “to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities” pg. 262

It is almost certainly not in reference to “Project Longevity,” which is narrowly focused on gang violence and has absolutely nothing to do with school shootings.

“Fox News presents ‘newly released police dispatch audio’ of exchange between 911 dispatcher and Newtown Police and Connecticut State Police encountering two shooting suspects on school grounds. ‘I have reports that the teacher saw two shadows running past the building, past the gym which would be rear [inaudible].’ ‘Yeah, we got him. He’s coming at me, down [inaudible].'” pg. 265

Once again, the shadows seen outside the gym were teachers escaping from conference room #20. Custodian Rick Thorne relayed this information to a 911 operator at 9:38:57 AM. At 9:39:34 AM, Officer Michael McGowan told dispatchers, “We got him,” referring to Christopher Manfredonia. McGowan didn’t say, “He’s coming at me,” but rather, “They’re coming at me,” referring to other officers arriving to assist.

“CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° reports on the Sandy Hook tragedy using video footage from an apparently unrelated event. ‘At 0:06 in and at 1:02 into the following video on CNN’s website,’ the alternative news outlet Intellhub observes, ‘[y]ou will notice the police running through a cross walk area that simply does not exist at Sandy Hook Elementary. Take note of the rounded curb area that leads into a grassy area of some sort with a tree present in the center of the grassy area. This area does not exist on Sandy Hook Elementary Schools property.'” pg. 265

Actually, the location in question is at St. Rose of Lima School, which was also on lockdown when the footage was filmed earlier that day. CNN never explicitly claims the footage is from Sandy Hook. This is already addressed in my entry on the book’s Epilogue.

“Unexpurgated NBC News video coverage of Connecticut State Police press conference reveals (at 2:32) forensics team recovering two long guns from vehicle Adam Lanza’s allegedly drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School.” pgs. 265-266

The video, filmed from a helicopter at night, is low-quality, but it’s clear to anyone watching that only one long gun is examined by an officer before being handed to a forensic investigator. Perhaps Tracy was seeing double.

“Federal authorities confirm there is no record of Adam Lanza using local Newtown shooting range.” pg. 272

According to Tracy’s own source, the “local Newtown shooting range” mentioned here is actually Wooster Mountain Shooting Range in Danbury, CT. However, the state’s final report contradicts this, noting that a witness gave Adam Lanza shooting pointers at Wooster in 2010:

Additionally, evidence in the final report shows that Adam and Nancy Lanza also visited Fairfield County Indoor Range/Arms and Munitions in Monroe, CT, and Shooter’s Indoor Pistol Range in New Milford, CT. Reed Coleman has detailed this evidence extensively on his blog, Sandy Hook Lighthouse.

“Health science and investigative writer Mike Adams…” pg. 278

Bahahahahahaha!

“…observes that much like the Tucson Arizona, Aurora Colorado, and Wisconsin Sikh temple shootings, mass media are scrubbing their coverage and doctoring the storyline to obscure the fact that there were additional suspects and probable shooters at the crime scene.” pg. 278

Or—and bear with me here—they’re simply updating their reporting as new, accurate information comes to light. Obviously, none of the book’s contributors have put this concept into practice, but surely even they can comprehend it… right?

“Sedensky argues that unsealing such findings might ‘seriously jeopardize’ the investigation by divulging evidence heretofore known only to other ‘potential suspects.'” pg. 287

What Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky actually said was that the information in the search warrant affidavits “is not known to the general public and any potential suspect(s), the disclosure of which would jeopardize the investigation and chances of successfully solving any crime(s) involved.” This statement was made only a couple of weeks after the shooting, when the investigation was still ongoing, and Sedensky was likely being thorough by not entirely ruling out the possibility of co-conspirators. However, he also clarified, “The investigation, which was a basis for the issuing of the search warrant, is still continuing… No arrests have been made and none are currently anticipated, but have not been ruled out.” By this stage, it was already clear that Adam Lanza acted alone.

“Corporate media begins broad defense of official Sandy Hook narrative against widespread and varied skepticism in alternative media with prominent South Florida Sun-Sentinel article centering on Florida Atlantic University communications professor James Tracy.” pg. 291

Your old pay Shill Murray knows that there’s nothing cooler than writing about yourself in the third person!

“Parents of three children killed in the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre testify through the day and into the night on proposed tougher gun laws.” pg. 295

So let me get this straight: after orchestrating an elaborate, years-long hoax with the supposed goal of confiscating everyone’s guns, the masterminds behind it all could only convince the parents of three victims to testify in favor of tougher gun laws? Doesn’t exactly scream “master plan,” does it?

And let’s not forget Mark Mattioli, father of victim James Mattioli, who has publicly opposed stricter gun control on multiple occasions. He even appeared on Fox News, telling Megyn Kelly, “There are tens of millions of these out there and criminals aren’t going to hand them back. So why should I be hampered in protecting myself when someone can come to my home and outgun me?” How does that fit into the grand disarmament scheme?

“According to the article, the officers proceeded “from room to room, urgently hunting for the killer before he could do more harm.” This partially contradicts theofficial [sic] story that Lanza fatally shot himself in the head in teacher Victoria Soto’s classroom ‘when authorities were closing in'” pg. 296

There’s no contradiction here—this describes the situation perfectly. Until officers discovered Adam Lanza’s body in room ten, they had no way of knowing he was A) the shooter or B) already dead. They started their search in room nine (a conference room, not a classroom) and had to proceed methodically from room to room, operating under the assumption—for their safety and everyone else’s—that the gunman was still active. That’s standard procedure, not some “contradiction” in the official account.

“The distance from the Redding Police Department to Sandy Hook Elementary is 11.9 miles and takes 26 minutes to travel at legal speed. Assuming Fuchs and his cohorts were traveling at twice the legal speed (120MPH) to the school it would take them 13 minutes to arrive at 9:45AM. This is assuming there were in fact calls for backup to surrounding communities.” pg. 296

Does James Tracy think police officers just sit in their stations all day waiting for action? Officer Fuchs, as he explained in his report (Source: Book 6, 00040403.pdf), wasn’t even in Redding when the incident occurred:

On December 14, 2012 at about 9:30 I was in my police cruiser headed to a meeting in the Hartford region when I overhead radio transmissions coming from the Newtown Police Department. The radio transmissions appear to be their response to an active shooter scenario in one of their schools.

Anyone with a basic understanding of geography—or access to Google Maps—can see that the fastest route from Redding, CT to Hartford, CT passes directly through Newtown via I-84E:

So, while it’s true that a direct drive from Redding to Newtown typically takes around twenty-six minutes at legal speeds, Officer Fuchs was already en route toward Newtown when the call came through. And yes, as a police officer responding to an active shooter at a school, he wasn’t exactly sticking to the speed limit.

“Marshall K. Robinson, forensic scientist for the Bridgeport, Conn. Police Department condemned proposed assault weapon and high-capacity magazine bans” pg. 297

Again, aren’t they supposed to be “taking away everyone’s guns”? And yet Connecticut’s police departments can’t even get one of their own forensic scientists on board with the plan? What happened—did Marshall K. Robinson miss the memo?

“Neil Heslin, the father of a boy murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School is overcome with grief in front of a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a proposed assault weapons ban.” pg. 299

Hold up—a parent overcome with grief? But back on page 29, we were told one of the “things that don’t make sense” about Sandy Hook is “parents showing no grief.” Then on page 180, the book claims, “We can only feel their grief if their children actually died, where none of their reactions were remotely like the genuine grief expressed by the parents of dead children in Gaza.” And don’t forget page 181: “Search for any parent displaying real grief. It’s not there.” So which is it, folks? Make up your minds.

“‘There is no record of a member relationship between Newtown killer Adam Lanza, nor between Nancy Lanza, A. Lanza or N. Lanza with the National Rifle Association,’ the NRA responded ‘Reporting to the contrary is reckless, false and defamatory.’ A review by Politico of the NRA’s website indicates the organization offers many ‘education and training programs,’ in addition to ‘online templates for certificates. Organizations around the country also offer what they bill as NRA certificates upon completion of certain classes,'” pg. 309

First, here is the signed certificate Adam’s mother, Nancy Lanza, received for completing the NRA’s Basic Pistol Course in February 2010, as seen in the crime scene photos:

This certificate was awarded to Nancy Lanza by Christian Hansen, an NRA-certified instructor since 1993:

Notably, Christian’s NRA ID# matches the one found on the certificate above.

The “NRA Basic Pistol Course” is a legitimate program offered by the NRA, requiring a minimum of eight hours of classroom instruction and range time:

The suggestion that this certificate is somehow illegitimate is utterly baseless and frankly absurd.

“CBS anchor Scott Pelley says in a speech at Quinnipiac University that journalists ‘are getting big stories wrong, over and over again.’ The CBS presenter did not hesitate in absorbing part of the blame. ‘Let me take the first arrow: During our coverage of Newtown, I sat on my set and I reported that Nancy Lanza was a teacher at the school. And that her son had attacked her classroom. It’s a hell of a story, but it was dead wrong. Now, I was the managing editor, I made the decision to go ahead with that and I did, and that’s what I said, and I was absolutely wrong.'” pg. 318

Yet none of this book’s contributors seem able to grasp this simple reality—even with one of them being a former “communications” professor.

“Death certificates for the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims are released as a result of mounting pressure from news media and a FOIA request after the Newtown Town Clerk’s office refused to turn them over to the press.” pg. 323

But this directly contradicts claims made earlier in the book: on page 29 (“government’s continuing refusal to release the death certificates”), page 61 (“Death certificates were eventually ‘released’ but not to the public or those who might want to investigate the case further; only a short, general summary was available”), and page 239 (“Nor have any birth certificates, death certificates or coroner’s inquests been to-date produced for the twenty alleged children who died”). So, what’s the deal? We also know anyone can order a copy of the death certificates themselves for $20 because others already have.

“Over 150 take part in an ‘Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill’ at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB). ‘The blood was just make-up, the screams for help only feigned, and the gunman at the center of it all nonexistent,’ the online Signal Tribune newspaper reports, ‘but the more than 150 participants involved in the [event] were taking their assigned duties very seriously.'” pg. 326

If this information was included to bolster the claim that the Sandy Hook shooting was just an active shooter drill passed off as real, it completely backfires. In fact, James Tracy has inadvertently provided all the evidence necessary to understand that Sandy Hook was not a drill.

The news articles covering the Cal State Long Beach drill—including Tracy’s own source from Signal Tribune—describe numerous hallmarks of a drill that were entirely absent in Newtown. These include a check-in tent, brightly colored badges worn by all participants, a team of evaluators, and mock victims with fake blood. Just take a look at the photos (from Gazettes and Press-Telegram News, respectively) from the Cal State drill:

Campus officers wield brightly colored fake guns and wear visible purple/pink identification badges. The same badges are seen on emergency personnel participating in the drill:

Now, compare that to the scene at Sandy Hook. Responding officers carried real, loaded firearms:

And no one was wearing brightly colored badges or any form of identification that would be essential in a drill to indicate their role:

In Chapter Five, Vivian Lee claims the lack of visible victims at the triage area proves Sandy Hook was a drill. But, as the photos from Cal State show, real drills prominently feature mock victims complete with fake blood and clear ID badges to simulate injuries and roles. Without these elements, the drill would serve no purpose for emergency personnel:

Also notable are the evaluators on-site at Cal State, observing and taking notes—another standard component absent at Sandy Hook.

Here’s the most glaring flaw in Tracy’s argument: active shooter drills exist because actual active shooter situations tragically occur. They’re preparation for reality. If these scenarios didn’t happen, there’d be no drills to simulate them. When’s the last time your town held an extraterrestrial invasion drill? Exactly.

“Ground is broken on a playground in Fairfield CT to honor Jessica Rekos, one of the young children slain in the Sandy Hook tragedy. The playground is being developed by firefighters and community members who wish to volunteer.” pg. 330

This playground was vandalized in July 2014—just like the playground honoring Jesse Lewis. Or the one honoring Grace McDonnell. And while I hesitate to point fingers, let’s be real: a denier definitely did it. Because who else would vandalize a child’s playground? Only a total coward.

Also, fun fact: pages 351 through 353 of this book repeat the same three short paragraphs five times. Five. Times:

It’s the perfect conclusion to yet another spectacularly stupid chapter.

Next: Appendix D: “Comparing Murder And Homicide Rates Before And After Gun Bans”