A first responder to the Sandy Hook shootings has died of Covid-19

A retired state trooper who was among the first to respond to the Sandy Hook massacre has died of Covid-19, the Connecticut State Police said.

Retired Trooper First Class Patrick Dragon died Saturday, the state police said on their Facebook page.

CNN affiliate WCVB said he was 50.

Dragon entered the State Police Training Academy in 1998. He then served as a patrol trooper in Danielson, a resident trooper in Sterling, and a detective in the Eastern District Major Crime Squad and the Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, according to the CSP.

He retired in 2018.

“Our thoughts & prayers are with his family,” the post said.

Six adults and 20 students died in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history.

The gunman, Adam Lanza, killed himself as law enforcement arrived at the school.