Newtown

Mass Shooting at CT Elementary School, 20 Children Among 27 Killed


Shannon Hicks, Newtown Bee

After what will ultimately go down as one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history when it’s all added up, President Barack Obama stepped up the podium and did something President Bill Clinton did after Columbine, something President George W. Bush after Virginia Tech: He addressed the nation after a tragic mass school shooting.

One at a high school. One at a college. Friday, at an elementary school.

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut — there, the scene that unfolded shook so many to their core. Maybe that’s what choked up the president, forcing him to wipe a tear from his eye. 20 children. 6 adults. The shooter. The shooter’s mother at their home. No more birthday parties. No more hugs and kisses. No more dreams. No more tomorrows. Another senseless act of violence took at least 27 lives today.


via Reuters

FOR MORE UPDATES:

State and Newtown police, ambulance, and emergency response personnel responded to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shortly after 9:30 am on Friday. “Multiple people have been killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dickinson Drive,” the Hartford Courant reported.

The shooter’s name was originally reported as Ryan Lanza, the older brother of the current suspect, Adam Lanza, whose mother was a teacher at Sandy Hook. Nancy Lanza has been ID’d as among those killed, but she was not at the school at the time. Lanza reportedly killed his mother at home and then drove her car to commit this deadly rampage.

• See the 11 Deadliest Shootings in U.S. History

The New York Post was the first to identify the shooter as Adam Lanza, not Ryan. Lanza is a 20-year-old male with connections to New Jersey and Connecticut. The shooter is “deceased inside the building,” the police reported at their first press conference.

Lanza fired “dozens and dozens” of rounds, according to eyewitness reports.

EARLIER:

Sources say a body has been found at the home of the shooter — the body likely belongs to one of Lanza’s parents, his mother Nancy who he was presumed to live with.

The man pictured below appears to be Ryan Lanza, Adam’s 24-year-old brother, who was first IDed as the shooter by numerous media outlets as the shooter.

4:52 p.m: ABC News reports that Ryan described his younger brother to the authorities as being autistic, or having Asperger syndrome and a “personality disorder.” Other neighbors describe him as being “odd” or displaying characteristics most commonly associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

At 3:15, President Obama made a brief statement, pausing to wipe a tear from his eye at one point. He also said, “We’re going to have to come together to prevent meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”


(AP photo/Charles Dharapak)

This is heartbreaking:


(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

CNN reports the school’s principal and psychologist have been killed.

Danbury Hospital is treating three people for injuries: “To date, three patients have been transported to Danbury Hospital from the scene. Out of abundance of caution and not because of any direct threat Danbury Hospital is under lockdown. This allows us simply to focus on the important work at hand.”


(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The Newtown H.S. principal says lockdown is over:

Live video feed here:

First photo of authorities staging on the scene, via @ljanyNT:

Parents rushing to the scene, via @LizDahlemNBCct:

More parents, via @rgoulston:

First responder consoles a woman at the scene:

WTNH reports:

A witness told News 8 she saw two children, one had a bloody face, the other with a hand injury.

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance would not confirm what is happening, but he told News 8 that several troopers are responding to the school at the request of Newtown police.

First tweets from the scene:

More as it comes …

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