She threw herself in front of the gunman to save her students: Astonishing story of the brave teacher who died protecting children from ‘deeply disturbed’ killer
- Victoria Soto, 27, sacrificed herself to save her first grade students by throwing her body in front of gunman Adam Lanza
- She was a highly regarded member of staff, popular with students and known for chewing gum in class
- Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were also killed execution-style after confronting Lanza
- A fourth teacher has been named as Lauren Rousseau, 30
A young teacher displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed her life saving as many children in her first grade class as she could after she came face-to-face with gunman Adam Lanza.
Victoria Soto, 27, had worked at Sandy Hook Elementary for five years. Her final moments were spent ushering her students into a closet when Lanza entered her classroom and she tried her best to shield the children from the evil gunman.
Soto was a highly regarded young teacher who was popular with her pupils. One young student, Jacob Riley, told Mailonline that Soto was known for chewing gum in class – something not usually allowed for teachers. He said he had often teased her about her habit and she had playfully teased him back.