News reports in Connecticut say 26 people – most of them young children – were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school.
By mid-afternoon, a Connecticut state police spokesman told reporters the crime scene had been secured. He said the first emergency call came shortly after 9:30 a.m. Police descended on the scene and immediately entered the school. Eighteen of the children and six adults, including the shooter, were found in one section of the school in two separate rooms. Two other children died in area hospitals.
The shooter, Adam Lanza, 20 years old shot and killed his mother, stole her car and then drove to the elementary school, where he opened fire on her kindergarten class, and another classroom. The gunman's 24-year-old brother, Ryan, was undergoing police questioning late Friday.
Adam Lanza used two 9mm pistols that he had stolen from his mother. He had a history of mental illness.
An official from the governor's office says Governor Dannel Malloy was “horrified” by tragedy and rushed to meet with the children's family members.
President Barack Obama called authorities in Connecticut to express his sadness, and pledged to help with federal resources.
The shooting took place Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 60 miles from New York City.
Photos and video images from the scene showed children being rushed out of the school, but it took several hours before the full scope of the tragedy to become known. VoA.
Gun laws broken: 1) Theft of a firearm (3 counts). 2) Possession of a firearm by someone under 21 years of age, without supervision (3 counts). 3) Matricide with a firearm. 4) Possession of a firearm by a mentally defective individual (3 counts). 5) Theft of a vehicle. 6) Possession of a firearm within 300 feet of a school (3 counts). 7) Discharge of a firearm within city limits (Minimally 28 counts). 8) Discharge of a firearm on school grounds (Minimally 27 counts). 9) Murder by discharge of a firearm (Minimally 27 counts). 10) Commission of a crime while in possession of a firearm (76 counts).
It seems the criminal was not stopped by the laws on the books. What might have stopped him would have been an armed guard and metal detector at the entrance of the school.