A survivor from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting continues to struggle with haunting memories of the tragedy 12 years later. He vividly recalls the heartbreaking moment when his parents broke the news to him that he had lost some of his friends forever in the horrific incident.
Matt Holden, 18, lost 20 classmates in the shooting and nearly lost his mom, who arrived at the school just moments after the gunman stormed inside.
“The tragedy, it fades, but doesn’t go away,” he told The U.S. Sun in an exclusive interview.
“My friends, those teachers, everyone who was in that building that day should still be with us.”
On December 14, 2012, deranged gunman Adam Lanza, 20, ruined dozens of families’ lives and changed American history forever.
That morning, Lanza shot his mom to death as she lay in bed, snatched her guns, and stole her car to drive to the elementary school.
Children and teachers were settling into their classrooms and listening to the morning announcements when gunfire rippled through the speakers.
The perpetrator, Lanza, arrived at the school to find the front doors locked. Undeterred, he wore sunglasses and a utility vest, then took out his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle. Using it, he shattered a window to gain entry at approximately 9:30 am.
Five minutes later, he burst into two first-grade classrooms and heartlessly murdered little six and seven-year-old children.
By the time the police arrived at the school, Lanza had killed 20 students and six adult teachers and faculty members.
When cops started to surround the property, Lanza turned the gun on himself.
Just down the hallway from the massacre was Holden, who was a first-grader at the time.
He remembers being excited that day because parents were stopping by to help the kids make gingerbread houses.
“I kind of remember it in these brief flashes almost like a dream,” he told The U.S. Sun.
“Parents were starting to come in. A few parents were already in my classroom.”
Holden’s mom, Karyn Holden, was running a bit late that day and had just pulled up to the school when Lanza shot through the front entrance.
How the Sandy Hook shooting unfolded
Twenty eight people died the day of the Sandy Hook massacre, making it the deadliest elementary school shooting in US history.
Here’s a timeline of what happened in the small Connecticut town on December 14, 2012.
Early morning – Deranged gunman Adam Lanza fatally shoots his mother at their home in Newtown, Connecticut, as she lies in bed.
9:30 am – Lanza arrives at Sandy Hook Elementary School and fires shots at glass outside to get around the locked front door.
At 9:35 am, Lanza forcefully entered a first-grade classroom and mercilessly gunned down 14 innocent children and their teacher. He then moved to a second first-grade classroom, where he callously ended the lives of another 6 children along with their teacher.
9:36 am – Terrified staff make their first 911 call.
9:39 am – Cops arrive at the school and surround the property.
9:40 am – Lanza turns the gun on himself as police approach the school.
The shaken survivor fears what might have happened if she had come moments earlier.
“Had she been there a minute sooner, she probably would have been in the building right when he entered,” the traumatized student said.
“She would have been shot and killed.”
ALEX JONES SLAMMED
Now a gun control activist, Holden is enrolled at George Washington University, where he studies government and politics.
He’s working to raise awareness about the importance of firearm restrictions and wants his story to enact actionable change in America.
When asked about disgraced conspiracist Alex Jones, Holden blasted him as a selfish fraud and conman.
“The lies he’s telling are just completely false,” blasted Holden.
“It’s a grift, a money grab. It’s a way for him to profit off the tragedy that befell my town and these families who lost their children.”
Holden said he was “disappointed” when he heard about the barred sale of Jones’ media outlet InfoWars to satirical newspaper The Onion.
On Tuesday night, a judge said that even though The Onion’s CEO bought InfoWars at auction, the sealed bids didn’t allow Jones to raise as much money as he could have.
The judge said the money needs to go to InfoWars employees and Sandy Hook Survivors – who are owed a massive $1.4 billion thanks to a defamation suit filed against Jones.
The parents sued the lying host after he claimed the shooting never happened and was a conspiracy to threaten the Second Amendment.
You’re reminded of it at so many points throughout the year.
Matt Holden
Holden said that the October 2023 decision was “completely deserved” and felt that “justice was served.”
“He was the one who chose to spread these awful lies,” he said.
DEVASTATING MOMENT
Holden, who was in the same grade as the victims, remembers being told to cover his eyes as walls of police escorted him out.
At his young age, he didn’t understand the severity of what was going on until he saw his mom in the parking lot.
“She came running up to me in tears, which is kind of the first indication something had got horribly wrong,” he said.
“I’d never seen her cry before, and that was just a shock for my six-year-old brain.”
The following day, Holden’s heartbroken parents took him on a walk so they could tell him the news.
“They told me that I would never see some of my friends again,” the devastated student said.
When asked how surviving the shooting changed his life, Holden admitted the day often comes back in flashbacks.
“You’re reminded of it at so many points throughout the year,” he said.
Holden is also working to honor the students’ memory through his work with Newtown Action Alliance – a nonprofit advocating for stricter gun laws.
He joined the group earlier this year and has shared his experiences with media outlets, lawmakers, and even Vice President Kamala Harris.
Knowing what it was like to be in that building, I don’t want anyone else to have to feel those feelings I felt that day.
Matt Holden
“It’s inspired me to go into a career in politics and government and work to make change,” he said.
As the 12-year mark passes, Holden’s sole hope for those remembering Sandy Hook victims is to try and have empathy for one another.
“Knowing what it was like to be in that building, I don’t want anyone else to have to feel those feelings I felt that day,” he said.
“We’re all in this together.
“We will stay in this fight until the day when we finally do have common sense gun control in this country.”
