Newton, Connecticut (FOX News) -
Twenty-seven people, including 20
children, were killed Friday when a gunman clad in black military gear
opened fire inside his mother's kindergarten class at a Connecticut
elementary school.
The shooter, who sources identified as
Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the face at their home
in Newtown, Conn., then went to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School
where she taught and gunned down her entire class, according to sources.
Lanza was found dead inside the school, according to
officials. Eighteen of the children and six more adults were dead at the
school and two more children died later, according to Connecticut State
Police Lt. Paul Vance.
Vance would not confirm the shooter's
name, and earlier in the day there were conflicting reports over the
gunman's identity. Law enforcement sources told FoxNews.com the shooter
was Adam Lanza. His brother, Ryan Lanza, 24, who was widely and
erroneously reported to be the suspect, was questioned in Hoboken, N.J.,
but authorities said he was not involved.
"It is not a simplistic scene," Vance told reporters.
An official with knowledge of the
situation said the shooter was armed with a .223-caliber rifle. Four
weapons in total were recovered from the scene. The motive is not yet
known.
Vance said during an afternoon news
conference that police arrived at the scene "within minutes" of a 911
call placed shortly after 9:30 a.m.
"Every door, every crack, every
crevice of that school" was checked, Vance said. "The entire school was
searched." He said the shooting occurred inside two rooms in "one
section of the school."
Vance did not give details about the
number of victims other than to say they included students and staff,
pending notification of the families. He said more information would be
released, possibly later Friday.
Vance also said that a "deceased adult" was found at a "secondary crime scene," though he declined to elaborate.
The vehicle the suspect drove to the school was registered to his
mother. Sources told Fox News the guns used in the shooting were owned
by and legally registered to Nancy Lanza.
A source close to the investigation said the shooter's father, who lives in Stamford, Conn., is meeting with FBI agents.
Former bus driver Marsha Moskowitz, who knew both Nancy Lanza and
principal Dawn Hochsprung, said the shootings have shaken the small town
to its core.
"Hug your kids tell them you love them," Moskowitz said. "I used to
bus all these kids from kindergarten to high school. I know them."
President Obama was notified of the shooting around 10:30 am ET, White House officials said.
"Our hearts are broken today," Obama said in a brief address to the nation on Friday. "We've
endured too many of these tragedies in these past few years, and each
time I receive the news I react not as a president, but as a parent."
"Most victims were children, between five and 10 years old...They had
their entire lives ahead of them, birthdays, graduations weddings, kids
of their own," he said, pausing before wiping tears from his eyes.
Sandy Hook Elementary School has close to 700 students.
Newtown is in Fairfield County, about 45 miles southwest of Hartford and 60 miles northeast of New York City.
