Update: 20 Elementary Students And 7 Adults Killed At Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut
NEWTOWN, Conn. -- A shooting at a Connecticut elementary school Friday left the gunman dead and at least one teacher wounded and sent frightened pupils into the parking lot. The shooter was killed and apparently had two guns, a person with knowledge of the shooting said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.
It wasn't clear how many people were injured at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. 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.
Brenda Lebinski, whose 8-year-old daughter attends the school, was among the parents who raced to check on their children. "I saw her and it was the happiest moment of my life," she said. Stephen Delgiadice said his 8-year-old daughter heard two big bangs and teachers told her to get in a corner. His daughter was not harmed.
"It's alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America," he said. Lisa Terifay, who was holding her two children outside the school, said she was stunned. "I still can't believe it's happened in my town," she said.
The superintendent's office said the district had locked down schools in Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City. Schools in neighboring towns also were locked down as a precaution. State police said Newtown police called them around 9:40 a.m. A SWAT team was among the throngs of police to respond.
Photos from the scene showed young students – some crying, others looking visibly frightened – being escorted by adults through a parking lot in a line, hands on each other's shoulders. Connecticut's governor was on the scene in Newtown. The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting and was receiving updates.
Update:
Authorities in Connecticut responded to a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday morning, the local NBC station reports. Police reported 27 deaths, including 18 dead children and others wounded, according to the Associated Press.
The one known shooter was 20 years old, carrying four weapons and wearing black clothing and a bullet proof vest. He is dead, authorities told ABC News. Police continue to investigate if there was a second shooter involved. Unconfirmed reports say that principal Dawn Hochsprung and a school psychologist were killed, according to a parent who claimed to witness part of the attack, CNN reported.
Danbury Hospital's emergency room staff has readied its wing for the arrival of an unknown number of victims, a spokeswoman for Western Connecticut Health Network told News Times.
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Reports say that the alleged shooter appeared in the building's main office at about 9:40 a.m., approximately 30 minutes after the school day began. The initial 911 call said that students were trapped in a classroom with the adult shooter who had two guns, according to WABC.
Students were led single file from the schoolhouse to a nearby fire station. Parents alerted to the catastrophe by text messages and emails sent by the school district arrived hoping to find their children safe. There are approximately 626 students enrolled in kindergarten through 4th grade classes at Sandy Hook Elementary, with another 46 faculty members, Newtown Patch reported.
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