The former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords met families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims on Friday. Giffords was shot in the head at a campaign event in Tucson, Arizona in January 2011. Six people died in the attack.

Giffords met Newtown's chief administrator, first selectman Pat Llodra, and school superintendent Janet Robinson, Reuters reported. She planned to attend a private event at a local home later in the day. The visit came three weeks after 27 people died when Adam Lanza shot his mother before driving to Sandy Hook elementary, where he killed 20 children and six adults. Reuters reported that Giffords and a small group spent around 30 minutes at the town hall before driving away.

More than 400 students of Sandy Hook elementary returned to classes for the first time on Thursday, at a school in Monroe. The school was heavily guarded by police – officers described it as the "safest school in America", according to the Associated Press.