Newtown Conspiracy Theory Claims Shootings Didn't Happen As Reported

A Newtown conspiracy theory by a college professor has stirred controversy in the United States.

Newtown Conspiracy Theory

James Tracy, a communications professor at the Florida Atlantic University, claims that the deadly Newtown shootings didn't happen as reported or may not have happened at all. He believes that trained "crisis actors" may have been hired by the Obama administration in an effort to further a political anti-gun agenda.

"As documents relating to the Sandy Hook shooting continue to be assessed and interpreted by independent researchers, there is a growing awareness that the media coverage of the massacre of 26 children and adults was intended primarily for public consumption to further larger political ends," Tracy wrote on his blog.

"While it sounds like an outrageous claim, one is left to inquire whether the Sandy Hook shooting ever took place -- at least in the way law enforcement authorities and the nation's news media have described," the 47-year-old professor said in another post.

Lisa Metcalf, FAU's media director, told the Sun Sentinel that the views expressed by Tracy do not reflect those of the university.

"James Tracy does not speak for the university," Metcalf said. "The website on which his post appeared is not affiliated with FAU in any way."

Tracy's conspiracy theory has been criticized as "outrageous" and "shameful."