Congressman Smith issued the following statement on the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn.:

    “Marie and I offer our thoughts and prayers for the entire community of Newtown, Conn., and especially for the parents, students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This has been a horrible ordeal. So many lives have been lost and so many others have been changed forever. This is a difficult time for them to get through. They have gone through something that no school community should ever have to go through. The entire nation mourns for them to somehow heal from this tragedy.”