Connecticut police to release report on Sandy Hook massacre

The Connecticut State Police are set to release a report on Friday analyzing their response to the 2012 Sandy Hook gun massacre of 26 young children and educators at Newtown elementary school, the Hartford Courant reported.

The report will detail state police response to the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School, one of the five deadliest mass shootings by a single gunman in U.S. history. It is expected to run to 60 to 80 pages, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

Connecticut officials were not immediately able to confirm the report.

A 20-year-old gunman armed with a high-powered assault rifle launched his attack at the school in a wealthy New York commuter suburb, after killing his mother at their home. He ended the rampage by shooting himself as he heard the sound of approaching police sirens.

After-action reports have become standard practice for U.S. law enforcement agencies after attacks like Sandy Hook's and are intended to improve response times. Connecticut media including the Courant have been critical of the length of time it has taken state police to complete and release this report.

Similar reports have been published after mass shootings dating back to the deadly 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado, which left 12 dead.

The Sandy Hook massacre inflamed the long-running U.S. debate over the right to bear arms, which is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the Constitution. States including Connecticut and New York passed laws limiting the possession of high-capacity ammunition magazines like those used in the attack, though federal efforts stalled in Congress.

(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Catherine Evans)