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President Barack Obama wants to reinstate an assault weapons ban in the wake of the mass killings in Newtown, Connecticut, his spokesman Jay Carney announced today.
Jay Carney said the president was “actively supportive” of a Democratic senator’s plan to introduce a bill on the first day of the next Congress.
Barack Obama would also consider curbs on high-capacity ammunition and loopholes, Jay Carney said.
Gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults in Friday’s attack.
Barack Obama has previously stated his support for the reintroduction of an assault weapons ban, which lapsed in 2004.
But he has not backed a specific move to do so before now.
“He is actively supportive of, for example, Senator [Dianne] Feinstein’s stated intent to revive a piece of legislation that would reinstate the assault weapons ban,” Jay Carney said on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama wants to reinstate an assault weapons ban in the wake of the mass killings in Newtown, Connecticut
The White House press secretary added that Barack Obama was also supportive of other gun legislation, including on high-capacity ammunition clips and against a loophole that allows for gun purchases at gun shows.
Senator Dianne Feinstein told reporters she would introduce the legislation when the new Congress met for the first time in January.
Correspondents say that Democrats are now less reluctant to pursue gun control legislation than before.
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama expressed support for the ban on assault weapons during one of three televised debates against Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
“I also share your belief that weapons that were designed for soldiers in war theatres don’t belong on our streets,” Barack Obama said in the second debate on October 16.
“And so what I’m trying to do is to get a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence generally. Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced.”
Episodes of comedy series American Dad and Family Guy were dropped on Sunday in the wake of Friday’s shootings in Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 26 dead.
Fox TV instead showed repeats of the shows to avoid broadcasting any potentially sensitive content.
The billed Family Guy episode had featured a retelling of the nativity while in American Dad, a demon punished naughty children at Christmas.
Meanwhile, director Quentin Tarantino has defended violence in movies.
Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, spaghetti western Django Unchained, features graphic violence, including buckets of blood exploding from characters as they are shot.
He said at a press junket in New York for the film on Saturday that he was tired of defending his films each time the US is shocked by gun violence.
“I just think you know there’s violence in the world, tragedies happen, blame the playmakers,” he said, adding: “It’s a western. Give me a break.”
Django Unchained is nominated for five Golden Globes at next year’s awards.
The Oscar-nominated director, whose work includes Inglourious Basterds and the Palme d’Or winning Pulp Fiction, said blame for violence should fall on those guilty of the crimes.
But lead actor, Jamie Foxx, said he believes big-screen violence can influence people.
Episodes of comedy series American Dad and Family Guy were dropped on Sunday in the wake of Friday’s shootings in Sandy Hook Elementary School
Jamie Foxx said: “We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn’t have a sort of influence. It does.”
He stars as the protagonist of Django Unchained, a slave living in the Deep South who sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Actor Christoph Waltz, who is also in the film, said he thought films did not provoke violence.
“The media’s responsibility is greater than the story teller is because… Django is violent, but it’s not inspiring violence.
“Because actually to me I find violence… to that degree repulsive. The fact that it looks so impressive is because it’s on a big screen.”
He added that violence was part of the film because it tells the story of American history.
Kerry Washington, who plays Django’s wife Broomhilda, said she believes the film’s explicit brutality serves an important purpose in educating audiences about the atrocities of slavery.
“I do think that it’s important when we have the opportunity to talk about violence and not just kind of have it as entertainment, but connect it to the wrongs, the injustices, the social ills,” she said.
On Saturday, premieres in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles for Tom Cruise’s new action film Jack Reacher and Billy Crystal comedy Parental Guidance were postponed in light of the shootings.
Paramount Pictures said the decision for Jack Reacher was made “out of honor and respect for the families of the victims whose lives were senselessly taken”. The film opens with a sniper shooting several people dead.
Fox said Parental Guidance was postponed “in light of the horrific tragedy”.
“The hearts of all involved with this film go out to the victims, their families, their community, and our entire nation in mourning.”
Fox also confirmed that a scheduled repeat of The Cleveland Show for Sunday was swapped for a repeat to avoid any potential insensitivities.
Twenty children and six women died in the assault on Sandy Hook school by a lone man who then took his own life.
The gunman has been identified by police as Adam Lanza, 20. He shot dead his mother before driving to the school in her car.
The first funerals are to be held for victims of Friday’s shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the US state of Connecticut.
Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both aged six, will be buried after ceremonies at 13:00 local time.
Twenty children and six women died in the assault on Sandy Hook school by a lone gunman who then took his own life. He had earlier killed his mother.
On Sunday President Barack Obama told residents at a vigil in Newtown the US must do more to protect its children.
He said he would use the powers of his office to prevent a repeat of the tragedy, adding that the nation shared the townspeople’s grief.
“We can’t tolerate this anymore,” Barack Obama said.
“These tragedies must end and to end them we must change.”
He made no specific mention of new gun control measures.
Meanwhile, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who supports gun ownership and has been given an “A” rating by the National Rifle Association, told US network MSNBC that it was time to “move beyond rhetoric” on gun control.
Joe Manchin, a gun owner and frequent hunter, said: “I’ve never had more than three shells in a clip. Sometimes you don’t get more than one shot anyway.
“It’s common sense. It’s time to move beyond rhetoric. We need to sit down and have a common sense discussion and move in a reasonable way.”
Joe Manchin is the first NRA-backed US senator to speak out since Friday’s killings.
In Connecticut, Jack Pinto will be buried in the Newtown Village Cemetery, and Noah Pozner will be buried at the B’Nai Israel Cemetery in the nearby town of Monroe, according to local media reports.
The family of James Mattioli, six, is also holding a wake on Monday.
Other victims’ funerals will be held throughout the week.
Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both aged six, are the first victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday’s shootings to be buried in Newtown
Jack Pinto was described as a sports lover, and reports say he may be buried in the No 80 jersey of his idol, New York Giants football player Victor Cruz.
Cruz played in a game on Sunday with the boy’s name written on his shoes and gloves.
Noah Pozner was the youngest victim of the shooting, described by his family as inquisitive and mature for his age.
The parents of Jessica Rekos have spoken for the first time. In an interview with TV network ABC, they said “she was the family CEO, she was the boss”. Her funeral takes place on Tuesday.
And the family of Victoria Soto, a teacher killed at Sandy Hook, called her “the queen” of her family as they recalled her in an interview with CBS News.
“She was the best daughter any mother could ask for,” her mother, Donna Soto, said.
Victoria’s sister Carly, whose shocked expression was captured by a news photographer on Friday and published around the world, said the image already served to renew the hurt.
“It’s like a reminder of that moment all over again, and it kills,” she said.
On Monday, Lt Paul Vance said police continued to do everything they could to answer every question about the shooting.
He said that two people who had been wounded but survived the shooting would be key witnesses and would be interviewed at an appropriate time.
Children who witnessed the attack would also be interviewed – in the presence of parents and professionals – Lt Vance added.
Gunman Adam Lanza, 20, did not seem to have had run-ins with the police, he said, and gave no information about whether mental health professionals had come forward with information about him.
As well as remembering the dead, the community is getting ready for the start of the school week, with teachers struggling to know what to tell their students.
All 20 children who died in the shootings – eight boys and 12 girls – were aged between six and seven, according to an official list of the dead. The school’s head teacher, Dawn Hochsprung, was among those killed.
All victims were shot several times, some of them at close range.
Adam Lanza shot his mother -reportedly in the head – before driving to the school in her car, authorities said.
Officials say he was armed with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and used a semi-automatic rifle as his main weapon. He was also carrying two handguns, and a shotgun was recovered from a car.
Barack Obama made an appeal for “meaningful action” against gun crime in the US shortly after the attack on Friday.
Sunday saw two senior US Democrats call for stricter gun control.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said his state had an existing ban on assault weapons, but the lack of a similar law at federal level made it difficult to keep them out of the state.
And Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents California in the upper house of Congress and is a long-term supporter of stricter gun control, said she would introduce a bill to ban assault weapons.
But opponents of gun control have hit back, saying a ban would be ineffective.
“Having a ban isn’t going to make the very people we would like to prevent from having them, [stop] having them,” said Independent Firearm Owners Association president Richard Feldman.
“They are already owned by tens of millions of people. What is the government planning to do? Come and get the guns? I don’t think so.”
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Speaking at an inter-faith vigil in Newtown, President Barack Obama has said the US must do more to protect its children in the wake of Friday’s shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut.
Barack Obama said he would use the powers of his office to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.
He told residents that the nation shared their grief.
Twenty children and six women died in the assault on Sandy Hook school by a lone man who then took his own life.
The first funerals for victims will be held on Monday.
The gunman has been identified by police as Adam Lanza, 20.
He shot dead his mother before driving to the school in her car.
Officials say he was armed with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and used a semi-automatic rifle as his main weapon. He was also carrying two handguns, and a shotgun was recovered from a car.
“I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation,” Barack Obama said, speaking after religious leaders and the state governor.
“You are not alone in your grief. All across this land of ours we have wept with you.”
Barack Obama repeated a call for action against gun crime, saying that in coming weeks he would use “whatever powers” his office held “in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this”.
“We can’t tolerate this anymore,” he said.
“These tragedies must end and to end them we must change.”
The complex causes of gun crime “can’t be an excuse for inaction”, he said.
Speaking at an inter-faith vigil in Newtown, President Barack Obama has said the US must do more to protect its children in the wake of Friday’s shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Barack Obama was also meeting victims’ families and emergency service workers.
All 20 children who died in the shootings – eight boys and 12 girls – were aged between six and seven, according to an official list of the dead. The school’s head teacher, Dawn Hochsprung, was among those killed.
All victims were shot several times, some of them at close range.
Police say the process of releasing the victims’ bodies to their families is under way.
Barack Obama made an appeal for “meaningful action” against gun crime in the US shortly after the attack on Friday.
Sunday saw two senior US Democrats call for stricter gun control.
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy said his state had an existing ban on assault weapons, but the lack of a similar law at federal level made it difficult to keep them out of the state.
“These are assault weapons. You don’t hunt deer with these things,” he told CNN.
“One can only hope that we’ll find a way to limit these weapons that really only have one purpose.”
Governor Dannel Malloy had to break the news to most of the victim’s families on Friday.
“You can never be prepared for that – to tell 18 to 20 families that their loved one would not be returning to them that day or in the future,” he said.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents California in the upper house of Congress and is a long-term supporter of stricter gun control, told US TV network NBC: “I’m going to introduce in the Senate, and the same bill will be introduced in the House [of Representatives], a bill to ban assault weapons.”
Asked if President Barack Obama would support her measure, she said: “I believe he will.”
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, another strong gun control advocate, has urged President Barack Obama to act.
“We have heard all the rhetoric before,” he said.
“What we have not seen is leadership – not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today.”
A nationwide ban on certain semi-automatic rifles in the US expired in 2004.
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Westboro Baptist Church’s Shirley Phelps-Roper, along with several other prominent members, announced on Twitter Sunday that they would be “singing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment” at the funerals of the Sandy Hook shooting victims.
It is unclear if they will actually be present, as the hate group is known for planning pickets and then not showing up, as they did after the Aurora, Colorado shooting, the Inquisitr reported.
Westboro Baptist Church is known for picketing soldiers’ funerals in protest of gay marriages, which they believe is the source of the world’s evils.
Hackers collective Anonymous responded swiftly to the picketing rumor, posting church members’ information online, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses, msnNOW reported.
There are also efforts being pulled together for counter protests to create “walls of love” around the funeral-goers, including one by Angel Action, a group that has volunteers dress in 10-foot wings to surround and shield the WBC’s targets.
Westboro Baptist Church plans praise gathering outside Sandy Hook Elementary school to celebrate God executing his judgement
“Westboro Baptist Church is planning another attack of hateful words, protesting the funerals of the 20 children and 7 adults who died yesterday at Sandy Hook elementary school,” Taylor Starr and Kelly Shannon, the group’s Sandy Hook organizers, wrote in a posting, according to the Daily Mail. “You can not fight hate with hate, so continuing in Romaine Patterson’s footsteps, if they do come here and try to protest we are going to put forth Angel Action.”
“Let’s not let more hate and sadness attack the already devastated family and friends of those who were lost,” they added.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Church’s picketing of funerals is legal, according to the Examiner, but some cities have passed laws that require protesters to stay a certain distance away from funerals.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Newtown, Connecticut tonight to meet the families of victims killed in Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the White House announced.
Barack Obama is expected to meet with families and first responders at a 7:00 p.m. interfaith vigil.
According to the Hartford Courant, Barack Obama will not make any public appearances during his visit.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton tweeted helicopters could be over nearby Danbury, Connecticut, today were an advance team setting up for his visit.
Barack Obama will also appear on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, and tweeted out links to a website named Demand a Plan, which launched after the July shooting in Colorado and asks voters to pressure Congress and the White House into changing the law.
In his weekly radio and Internet address earlier on Saturday, Barack Obama said it was time to “take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this”.
Barack Obama stopped short of calling for tighter gun-control laws.
In the wake of the deadly shooting the pressure’s on the president, who promised during a debate two months ago that he would “keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill”.
Families in the small community of Newtown, Connecticut, were shattered by the loss of 18 children as young as five years old when gunman Adam Lanza burst into the school and began firing at random.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Newtown, Connecticut tonight to meet the families of victims killed in Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Some lawmakers have targeted President Barack Obama to do something about gun control, which is exactly what the president pledged to do on the campaign trail.
Barack Obama’s remarks came at the second presidential debate against Republican rival Mitt Romney at New York’s Hofstra University on October 16, when he invoked the memory of the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater massacre from several months earlier.
He said: “So my belief is that… we have to enforce the laws we’ve already got, make sure that we’re keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill.
“We’ve done a much better job in terms of background checks, but we’ve got more to do when it comes to enforcement.”
Wiping away tears as he spoke on Friday, President Barack Obama today signaled he would push for tight gun control in the wake of the massacre of 26 at an elementary school in Connecticut, saying there had been “too many” mass shootings in America.
During a moving appearance, he said the time had come to “take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics”.
Barack Obama struggled for words, pausing several times as he wept and described the “beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old” slaughtered in the school massacre in Connecticut.
Seldom has a head of state expressed greater public emotion in modern times, White House aides held hands and also wept as they sat in the briefing room named after James Brady, the press aide wounded in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan was shot and who later became the nation’s leading gun control advocate.
Barack Obama was not the only one who showed deep emotion over the shooting. Parents lined up at schools across the country to pick up their children and make sure they made it home safely.
School administrators from Washington D.C. to Boston and Iowa issued statements assuring parents that they had stepped up security and that their schools were still safe.
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Reports have emerged that Adam Lanza had visited Sandy Hook Elementary the day before Friday’s massacre during which he was involved in an altercation with four teachers – three of whom are now dead.
The fourth teacher – and only survivor of the altercation – wasn’t at school on Friday and is currently being interviewed by investigators. It hasn’t been revealed what the argument was over or if it was reported to authorities.
The staff member’s testimony might be an “important piece of information” for discerning motive in this case, reports NBC.
While initial reports had suggested school principal Dawn Hochsprung buzzed Adam Lanza into the building – bypassing the newly-installed security system – police have confirmed that the shooter forced his way in.
Adam Lanza opened fire on Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which teaches children aged 5 to 10. He murdered 26 people at the school before turning the gun on himself, as well as killing one other person – his mother – at another nearby site.
Investigators said they have found “some very good evidence” to explain what drove gunman Adam Lanza, 20, to slaughter 20 children, including Ana Marquez-Greene and Jesse Lewis, and six adults at the Connecticut elementary school.
Adam Lanza had visited Sandy Hook Elementary the day before Friday’s massacre during which he was involved in an altercation with four teachers
“Our investigators at the crime scene … did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in, hopefully, painting the complete picture as to how – and more importantly why – this occurred,” Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance told a news conference Saturday morning.
“We’re hopeful it will paint a complete picture,” he said.
All the bodies were removed from the school overnight and a medical examiner is expected to release the names of the victims on Saturday.
Police have assigned a trooper to support each victim’s family in the days ahead. Paul Vance asked reporters to respect the families’ grief and privacy.
“This is an extremely heartbreaking thing for them to endure,” said Paul Vance.
It is expected that investigators will take another two days to process the school crime scene where it is believed Adam Lanza fired as many as 100 rounds from his guns.
“It’s going to be a slow, painstaking process,” said Paul Vance.
The adult woman found at the secondary crime scene is believed to be the shooter’s mother, Nancy Lanza.
Nancy Lanza legally owned a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns of models commonly used by police, and a military-style Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, according to law enforcement officials who also believe Adam Lanza used at least some of those weapons.
Nancy Lanza was an avid gun collector who once showed him a “really nice, high-end rifle” that she had purchased, said Dan Holmes, owner of a landscaping business who recently decorated her yard with Christmas garlands and lights.
“She said she would often go target shooting with her kids.”
Grief-stricken members of the community tied white balloons to the sign for Sandy Hook school today in honor of all those who lost their lives.
Outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, mourners left teddy bears, flowers and lit candles for victims.
Newtown was ranked the fifth safest city in America by the website NeighborhoodScout.com based on 2011 crime statistics.
“This wonderful town that we all love for its peace, beauty, the great schools – all of that – has become Columbine,” said Julie Maxwell Shull, a sixth-grade teacher at Reed Intermediate School, referring to the high school that was site of a 1999 shooting in Colorado.
Many people who live in the wealthy, wooded town commute to New York City, about 80 miles away.
Victoria Soto, a young teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed her life saving as many children in her first grade class as she could after she came face-to-face with gunman Adam Lanza.
Victoria Soto, 27, had worked at for five years at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Her final moments were spent ushering her students into a closet when Adam Lanza entered her classroom and she tried her best to shield the children from the evil gunman.
She was a highly regarded young teacher who was popular with her pupils. One young student, Jacob Riley, said that Victoria Soto was known for chewing gum in class – something not usually allowed for teachers. He said he had often teased her about her habit and she had playfully teased him back.
“She took her kids, put them in the closet and by doing so she lost her life protecting those little ones,” Victoria Soto’s cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News.
“She was found huddled over her children, her students, doing instinctively what she knew was the right thing. I’m just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm,” he continued.
“It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes she’s a hero,” he added.
Victoria Soto displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed her life saving as many children in her first grade class at Sandy Hook Elementary School
A deeply distraught 10-year-old boy who is a former student of Victoria Soto described her as “really nice and funny”.
Three teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School trying to save their students from gunman Adam Lanza, the son of Nancy Lanza, who worked at the school.
The other two teachers have been identified as principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56.
Twenty-eight people died in the shooting rampage, including 20 young children between the ages of five and ten, alleged gunman Adam Lanza, who took his own life, and his mother, who was shot before the school massacre.
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Three teachers murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School all died heroes trying to save their students from gunman Adam Lanza who they recognized as the son of a kindergarten teacher there.
Authorities have identified principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, school psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56, and 27-year-old Victoria Soto, a young first grade teacher, as three of the eight adults found dead on Friday.
Twenty-eight people died in the shooting rampage, including 20 young children between the ages of five and ten, alleged gunman Adam Lanza, who took his own life, and his mother Nancy, who was shot before the school massacre.
Victoria Soto sacrificed herself to save her students – throwing her body in front of the young children.
When Adam Lanza began started firing at the school in suburban Newtown, Connecticut, some teachers dived under tables – but Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach never hesitated.
They ran into the hallway to confront the danger – and were murdered execution-style as a result.
Victoria Soto sacrificed herself to save her students, throwing her body in front of the young children
The New York Times reports that Dawn Hochsprung buzzed Adam Lanza into the school, bypassing the newly-installed security system – recognizing him as the son of Nancy Lanza, a teacher there.
Little did she know that Adam Lanza had already killed his mother at the home they shared nearby. He took three of her guns and used her car to drive to the school.
Diane Day, a school therapist, told the Wall Street Journal that she and several other teachers were in a meeting with Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach when the shooting began.
“We were there for about five minutes chatting and we heard, <<pop pop pop>>,” she said.
“I went under the table.”
The principal and the school psychologist had other ideas. They jumped out of their seat and ran toward the sound of the gunfire.
“They didn’t think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on,” Diane Day said.
Rabbi Shaul Praver told MSNBC that Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach were killed execution-style.
Tributes for all educators poured in on Friday night.
A deeply distraught 10-year-old boy is a former student of Victoria Soto, who had taught at the school five years, said she was “really nice and funny”.
The woman’s cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News that police said the 27-year-old was trying to shield her students and usher them into a closet when she came face to face with the gunman.
“She put herself between the gunman and the children and that’s when she was tragically shot and killed,” Jim Wiltsie said.
“I’m just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm,’ he continued.
“It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes she’s a hero,” he added.
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Ryan Lanza, the brother of the Connecticut massacre gunman Adam Lanza, defended himself in a series of bizarre Facebook posts after he was mistakenly named as the killer when his ID was reportedly found at the scene.
Ryan Lanza, 24, seemed unaware that his younger brother, Adam Lanza, had gunned down 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown before taking his own life.
“Everyone shut the f*** up it wasn’t me,” Ryan Lanza insisted on his Facebook page on Friday.
“I’m on the bus home now it wasn’t me. IT WASN’T ME I WAS AT WORK IT WASN’T ME.”
The Associated Press said the mix-up came after an official mistakenly transposed the brothers’ first names, while a New Jersey reporter said Ryan Lanza told him the killer may have had his ID.
He is now being questioned by police in Hoboken, New Jersey, but police said he is not a suspect.
Adam Lanza, 20, was dressed in black military gear and a bullet proof vest when he opened fire in the principal’s office and then moving to a kindergarten classroom where his mother, Nancy, taught.
Sources told the New York Post that Adam Lanza had “had a dispute with” his mother, who was found dead at her home. He then drove to the school in her car and gunned down her kindergarten class, Fox reported.
Adam Lanza died of a self-inflicted gun wound at the scene. The Newtown Patch reported that he may have been developmentally disabled.
After Adam Lanza unleashed terror on the elementary school – the second biggest in U.S. history – the body of his father was reportedly found at their home in Newton at 2:00 p.m.
The Associated Press reported that Adam Lanza’s girlfriend and another friend are missing in New Jersey.
Ryan Lanza, the brother of the Connecticut massacre gunman Adam Lanza, defended himself in a series of bizarre Facebook posts after he was mistakenly named as the killer
Police surrounded a Hoboken apartment, believed to be the home of Ryan Lanza, on Grand Street on Friday afternoon.
According to sources, he drove to the scene of the shootings in his mother’s car and opened fire at 9:41 a.m. on Friday.
Three guns were found at the scene – a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols – and a .223-caliber rifle. The rifle was recovered from the back of a car at the school. The two pistols were recovered from inside the school.
The identities of the other victims have not yet been released but include the school principal, Dawn Hochsprung, and psychologist. Two of the children died while on the way to hospital.
Robert Licata said his six-year-old son was in class when the gunman burst in and shot the teacher.
“That’s when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door,” he said.
“He was very brave. He waited for his friends.”
Stephen Delgiadice said his eight-year-old daughter heard two big bangs and teachers told her to get in a corner. His daughter was fine.
“It’s alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America,” he said.
A dispatcher at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps said a teacher had been shot in the foot and taken to Danbury Hospital.
Andrea Rynn, a spokeswoman at the hospital, said it had three patients from the school but she did not have information on the extent or nature of their injuries.
Mergim Bajraliu, 17, heard the gunshots echo from his home and raced to check on his 9-year-old sister at the school. He said his sister, who was fine, heard a scream come over the intercom at one point. He said teachers were shaking and crying as they came out of the building.
“Everyone was just traumatized,” he said.
The shooting is the latest in a series of high-profile gun crimes in American schools and colleges that is especially shocking given the age of the students involved.
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At least 27 people have been killed, including many children, in a shooting attack at a primary school in the US state of Connecticut, US media say.
At least 18 children are among the dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier, the gunman was reported to have been killed and at least three people were taken to hospital.
A news conference is imminent and the state Governor Dannell Malloy is on his way.
Police arrived at the school soon after 09:40 local time, answering reports that a gunman was in the school’s main office and one person had “numerous gunshot wounds”.
Scores of officers at the scene carried out a full search of the site.
Schools across the district were immediately on lock-down as a preventive measure, officials said.
Meanwhile, the three people who have been taken to hospital are in “very serious condition”, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton told CNN.
One witness speaking to CNN said that shots were heard coming from the hall. There “must have been 100 rounds” fired, she told the channel.
Local media have reported that firefighters instructed children to close their eyes and run past the school’s office as they exited the building.
Other sources suggest that some of the shots were fired in a school classroom.
According to CNN, the shooter’s body was in one of the school’s classrooms.
At least 18 children are among the dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown
There were unconfirmed reports of two shooters, according to a report in the local Hartford Courant newspaper.
With the children now evacuated, aerial images of the school show several emergency vehicles still at the scene and scores of cars surrounding the area.
Teams of officers are on the scene, some with dogs, as a thorough search of the school continues.
A local NBC news channel said that a hospital in nearby Danbury had reported receiving three injured patients.
Several parents are reportedly at the school, standing by and waiting for more information. Officials say they are trying to unite children with their parents.
Sandy Hook School – described by correspondents as a highly rated school – has cancelled its kindergarten class on Friday and will not operate midday bus runs, the school’s website says.
The public school has more than 600 students in classes from Kindergarten to 4th Grade – including students aged from five to 10.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that US President Barack Obama had been informed of the incident and was receiving regular updates.
On its website, Danbury Hospital said it was aware of a “situation” at the school.
“Please know we’re collecting facts now and will be back to you as soon as possible with the most accurate information,” the hospital said in a statement.
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