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| A Bushmaster .223 assault rifle (image above) was the primary weapons used in shooting at an elementary school in Newtown [gfx © news.bdtv.in] |
Washington: The shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. on
Friday have drawn widespread public interest. A weekend survey finds that 57%
of Americans say they followed news about the tragedy there very closely.
The survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the
people and the Press, between December
14-16 among 746 adults, finds the public is evenly divided over whether the
Newtown shootings reflect broader problems in Americans society (47%) or are
just the acts of troubled individuals (44%).
The percentage is higher than interest in the shootings at
an Aurora, Colo. movie theater in July (49% very closely), though not as great
as interest in the Columbine shootings in 1999 (68%).
By contrast, clear majorities said that both the Aurora
shootings, as well as the shootings in Tucson, Ariz. in Jan. 2011, were just
the isolated acts of troubled individuals; 67% said that after the Aurora
shootings at a movie theater and 58% said that after the Tucson shootings,
which killed six and left former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seriously wounded.
Opinions today are comparable to reactions to the shootings on the campus of
Virginia Tech University in April 2007.
Most parents are talking with their children about the
massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to a separate survey of
more than 750 adults with children at home, conducted Dec. 14-17, using Google
Consumer Surveys.
About half (53%) of
all the parents who participated in the survey, including 71% of those with
younger children, say they are restricting how much news coverage of the
tragedy their children watch.