Sandy Hook Principal's Daughter on Kids Saved by Heroic Mother's Actions
Erica Lafferty, daughter of the slain principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School, talked to "Today" about her loving mother.
Dawn Hochsprung was remembered by her daughter who told the morning show on Tuesday that her mother truly loved each and every student at her school.
"To say she was a wonderful person is the understatement of the century,'' 27-year-old Lafferty said. "She put her life into making everyone else's life so much better. Her smiles lit up every building she walked into. She made an impact on everyone that she's ever come across - every adult, every child. Especially the kids, the light of her life.''
The 47-year-old principal was one of six adults and 20 children killed by Adam Lanza in the shooting spree in Newtown, CT on Friday.
During the incident at the school, Hochsprung confronted the shooter, which may have bought time for more people to escape the scene.
"I had a really hard time not being mad about it, but that's who she was,'' Lafferty said during her interview regarding her mother's heroic actions. "She faced every single problem that she ever had in her life head on. My cousin referred to her as a bull yesterday. There's no stopping Dawn when she has a mission. She gets it done, and she gives it everything she has.''
A vigil was held in her honor on Tuesday with members of the town gathering to remember Hochsprung.
Her husband George said he first learned about his wife's heroic actions through the staff members she saved.
"And they said they were in a meeting," George Hochsprung said, as reported by CBS News. "Dawn told us to go hide, and she, and at least with one other teacher ran out, and actually tried to subdue the killer. I don't know where that comes from. Dawn was 5 feet 2."
Hochsprung was a mother and stepmother to five children. She became the school's principal in 2010.
According to Fox News, a former principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School will return to the position.
Donna Page will act as interim principal when the students start classes at nearby Chalk Hill School after the holiday break.
