WNYer went to school at Sandy Hook Elem

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - News 4 spoke to a western New York man who went to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut as a child.

C.J. Mauer lived in Newtown, the scene of Friday's shooting that killed 20 children and six adults, when he was younger. He describes it as a traditional New England town where everyone knows one another.

He's now 26 and living in Buffalo. His heart sank as the tragic news emerged from his alma mater and he heard from his friends and family.

"My sister went to school with the gunman. She texted me that today. She knows him and I recognize the name. It's a small enough town that if I saw his picture I'd be surprised if I didn't recognize him. It's that type of town. I don't know if you grew up in a town like that, but there certainly are a lot of towns around here like that where everybody knows everyone they went to school with," Mauer said.

He added this is the first time he had ever heard his hometown mentioned on the national news, and for a tragedy like this, it just doesn't seem real to him yet.