In a town still numb from an inexplicable massacre of children,
relatives of the victims will meet with President Barack Obama on Sunday
as he visits the city.
Questions and anguish
abound two days after police said a gunman shot his mother before
killing 20 students and six adults at a nearby elementary school. He
apparently turned his weapon on himself, silencing any way for the world
to understand fully what was in his mind.
While the community grieves, authorities continue chipping away for clues as to why the tragedy unfolded.
Here's the latest on the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown:
All the victims died from
gunshot wounds and were struck multiple times, said H. Wayne Carver II,
Connecticut's chief medical examiner. Their deaths were classified as
homicides.
"This probably is the worst I have seen or the worst that I know of any of my colleagues having seen," Carver told reporters.
All 20 of the slain children were either 6 or 7 years old.
Connecticut Gov. Dan
Malloy said he released the names of victims to families who had been
anxiously waiting for word in a nearby firehouse.
"The parents had been
gathered for hours, clinging to hope," he told CNN on Sunday. "And you
can never be prepared for that, to tell 18 to 20 folks, or actually
families, that their loved one would not be returning to them."
Among those killed was 6-year-old Emilie Parker. Her father struggled to hold back tears while recalling the life cut far too short.
"As the deep pain begins
to settle into our hearts, we find comfort reflecting on the incredible
person that Emilie was and how many lives that she was able to touch in
her short time here on earth," Robbie Parker told reporters.
"She loved to use her
talents to touch the lives of everyone that she came in contact with,"
he added. "She always carried around her markers and pencils so she
never missed an opportunity to draw a picture or make a card for those
around her."
Robbie Parker also offered his condolences to all the families affected.
"This includes the
family of the shooter," he said. "I can't imagine how hard this
experience must be for you, and I want you to know that our family, and
our love and support goes out to you as well."
Six adults were also
killed in the school rampage, including principal Dawn Hochsprung,
school psychologist Mary Sherlach, first-grade teacher Vicki Soto and
substitute teacher Lauren Rousseau.
Hochsprung recently oversaw
the installation of a new security system requiring every visitor to
ring the front entrance's doorbell after the school doors locked at 9:30
a.m.
Authorities said the first emergency call about the shooting came in at "approximately" 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The investigation
The shooter used a gun to force his way into the building, the governor said Sunday.
"What we know is he shot
his way into the building. He was not buzzed in," Malloy said. "He
penetrated the building by literally shooting an entrance into the
building. That's what an assault weapon can do for you."
Investigators believe
the gunman opened fire in two classrooms at the school, then shot
himself as authorities entered the building, Malloy told ABC's "This
Week."
"We surmise that it was
during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and
apparently at that decided to take his own life," he said.
Investigators have been
combing "every crack and crevice" of the school and have found some
"very good evidence" there and at gunman Adam Lanza's home, where his
mother, Nancy, was killed.
"The detectives will
certainly analyze everything and put a complete picture together of the
evidence that they did obtain, and we're hopeful -- we're hopeful --
that it will paint a complete picture as to how and why this entire
unfortunate incidence occurred," said Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for
Connecticut State Police.
The gunman terrorized the elementary school wearing black fatigues and a military vest, according to a law enforcement official.
A parent who was inside the school at the time of the attack said she heard what sounded like at least 100 rounds fired.
The gun control debate
The deadly shooting that shattered this quiet New England town also reignited the ongoing debate about gun laws in America.
Adam Lanza was found
dead next to three guns -- a semiautomatic .223-caliber rifle made by
Bushmaster and two handguns made by Glock and Sig Sauer, a law
enforcement source told CNN. All belonged to his mother.
Carver, who performed
autopsies on seven of the victims, said the wounds he knew about were
caused by a "long weapon" and that the rifle was the primary weapon
used.
Nancy Lanza was a gun
collector and recently showed off a newly bought rifle to fellow Newtown
resident Dan Holmes, who owns a landscaping business in the town.
Besides the three
weapons found at the school, the shooter also had access to at least
three more guns, a law enforcement source said.
The gunman
The few relatives and acquaintances who have spoken out about Adam Lanza were at a loss to explain how this could have happened.
An aunt and a former classmate described him as very intelligent and quiet. He had no known criminal record.
His father, Peter Lanza, released a statement Saturday expressing condolences to the families of victims.
"Our family is grieving
along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No
words can truly express how heartbroken we are," the statement read.
"We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we
can."
The gunman's father and brother have been questioned by authorities, law enforcement officers said.
The town
The massacre in Newtown is the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, behind the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting spree that left 32 dead.
"Stuff like this does
not happen in Newtown," said Renee Burn, a teacher at another school in
the town, which is roughly 75 miles northeast of New York.
Until Friday, only one
homicide in 10 years had been reported in the upscale community of
expansive homes surrounded by woods, where many residents commute to
jobs in Manhattan and the nearby Connecticut cities of Stamford and
Hartford.
Gene Rosen, who lives
near the Sandy Hook school, told CNN affiliate WFSB-TV in Hartford he
was surprised when a group of young children ran onto his front lawn
Friday. They mentioned a gun, and their teacher. Rosen called their
parents. At the time, it wasn't clear how the children got to his house,
or exactly what had happened.
Choking back tears,
Rosen told the CNN affiliate that the children, ages 6 to 8, were clear
about one thing: "They just said, 'I can't go back to that school.' "
Source: CNN
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