Slain Sandy Hook Principal's Daughter Speaks at DNC

NEWTOWN, CT — Erica Smegielski, daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, the principal who was killed in the Sandy Hook School massacre, spoke during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

Smegielski began a very vocal campaign in the months following the shootings to work for change to prevent gun violence. She said, "I should not be here tonight, she said, "I should be home, like so many Americans watching TV, with my mother as we nominate the first woman to be the president of the United States. But my mother was murdered, so I'm here."

Smegielski spoke in April with Hillary Clinton about how shootings affect the country every day and not just in mass shootings. “My mom was murdered, and she isn’t coming back no matter how hard I fight,” she said, adding that she hopes to use her voice to encourage others to stand up.

The 47-year-old Hochsprung was one of the first people killed when a lone gunman committed one of the worst school shootings in American history, taking the lives of 20 children and six educators shortly after killing his mother in their home on Dec. 14, 2012.

Smegielski was featured in a Clinton ad during the Democratic primary and said that Clinton reminds her of her mother who "isn’t scared of anything.” When Smegielski joined Clinton during the gun violence prevention rally in Hartford last April, she said Clinton's Democratic rival Bernie Sanders owed the families an apology and live tweeted during the debate, calling him insensitive and disrespectful.

Patch reported in April of 2013 that after the shooting, Smegielski began volunteering with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group of U.S. mayors campaigning for gun control that was founded and funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

She later became a paid employee for Mayors Against Illegal Guns and began traveling with others who have been impacted by gun violence, talking a need for stricter gun control laws and expanded background checks.

Photo: Erica Smegielski stands with her sister and her mother, the late Sandy Hook School principal Hochsprung. Credit: Erica Smegielski, used by permission