Best friend’s letter to slain Sandy Hook pupil goes viral

NEWTOWN, Connecticut: A best friend’s touching farewell letter to a slain Sandy Hook pupil went viral on the Internet Tuesday, encapsulating in a few words the shock and sorrow of a nation. “Jack, you are my best friend,” began the handwritten letter to six-year-old Jack Pinto, one of the 20 first graders and six teachers killed Friday in one of the worst mass shootings ever at a US school.

“We had fun together. I will miss you. I will talk to you in my prayers. I love you Jack. Love, John.” Under the letter — written in the shaky handwriting of a child about Jack’s age — were two color photos of the boys together, including one of them stepping out smartly in T-shirts and shorts. 

USA Today reporter Yamiche Alcindor came across the letter at a Newtown funeral home on Monday where Jack’s friends and family paid final respects before the lad’s burial, she told AFP in an e-mail. Alcindor posted the image on her Twitter account, @Yamiche, on Tuesday, from where it ricocheted across social media.