Community Corner

UPDATED: 27 Dead in Connecticut School Shooting

Local and state police in Newtown, Conn., were called to an elementary school at about 9:30 a.m. Friday morning after a gunman allegedly opened fire at the school.

Twenty seven people are dead, including 18 children, at a Connecticut elementary school after a gunman went on a shooting rampage.

The shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. a town of about 28,000 people an hour outside of Stamford. Newtown Police were called to the school at about 9:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call. They alerted Connecticut State Police and authorities began an active shooter investigation once they arrived at the school, according to Connecticut State Police spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vance.

Authorities held a press conference at 1 p.m. and said students and staff at the school were killed and that the gunman was found dead inside the school. They did not confirm the number of fatalities. However, reports have said the school's principal and a school psychologist were among the dead.

The alleged gunman was armed with four guns and a high-powered assault rifle. Authorities are currently searching his father’s home in New Jersey as part of the ongoing investigation. The suspect's mother lives in Newtown and was a kindergarten teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which has close to 600 students in kindergarten through 4th grade. She was among those killed, according to several news reports.

Police also have a second suspect in custody. According to eyewitness accounts, police found a man in the woods near the school wearing camouflage pants and took him in for questioning. As the man passed parents gathered near the school, he said “I didn’t do it,” according to CBS News.

A parent interviewed on CBS News also told the network that his 8-year-old daughter said she heard an argument and cursing over the school’s loudspeaker, apparently coming from the principal’s office. Her teacher then immediately locked the classroom door as a safety precaution.

A fourth-grade student at Sandy Hook Elementary School told Connecticut’s Channel 7 that he and his classmates were “locked in a closet in the gym” to escape the gunman.

One mother of an 8-year-old girl at the school, Brenda Lebinski, told Patch that her daughter is safe thanks to one teacher's decision to move all kids into a closet when a gunman had entered the building.

Authorities said the scene is now secure and that there is no longer a threat to public safety. They will be providing more details and holding another press conference on the incident as soon as they notify the families of the victims.

Find out what's happening in Tiverton-Little Comptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The shooting, possibly the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history behind the Virginia Tech massacre, has once again touched a nerve about the country’s gun violence.

Find out what's happening in Tiverton-Little Comptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During a press conference this afternoon, President Obama visibly wept, saying "we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action about this, regardless of the politics.”

The president also said “our hearts are broken for the parents and survivors, as well. For as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been lost.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here