Connecticut school shooting: Children among 27 killed

Twenty children and six adults have been killed in a shooting attack at a primary school in the US state of Connecticut, police say.

The gunman also died, but was not formally identified by police.
However, officials told US media the killer at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, was a 20-year-old son of a teacher at the school.
It is one of the worst-ever US school shootings, with a toll close to the 32 who died at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Early reports named 24-year-old Ryan Lanza as the gunman, but anonymous officials later said his brother Adam, 20, was the suspect.
He is thought to have killed their mother, named as Nancy Lanza, before heading to the school where she worked as a teacher to carry out the killings.
Ryan Lanza was being questioned by police, the Associated Press news agency and New York Times reported, but has not been named as a suspect.
'Safest place in America' Police Lt Paul Vance said 18 children were pronounced dead at the school, and two died after being taken to hospital. Six adults were also killed, and the gunman died at the scene.

“Start Quote

Our hearts are broken today, for the parents, grandparents, sisters and brothers of these children

Barack Obama US Presi

One person was also injured, and police were investigating a second crime scene in Newtown, where another victim was found dead - understood to be the gunman's mother.

Police were also reported to be investigating a location in Hoboken, New Jersey, but it is not clear whether there is a connection to the shooting.
Dressed in black and wearing a bullet-proof vest, the gunman is thought to have had several weapons, although it is not clear whether he used more than one.
The weapons included two handguns - a Glock and a Sig Sauer - and a .223-calibre rifle, reports said.
The killings took place in two rooms within a single section of the school, police have said.
One parent, Stephen Delgiadice, whose eight-year-old daughter was at Sandy Hook School on Friday but was not harmed, said the shooting was traumatic for the small town.
"It's alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America," Mr Delgiadice told the Associated Press.
A memorial service is taking place at a church in Newtown. People crowded outside the doors of the church as Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy addressed those gathered.
He called the attack a "tragedy of unspeakable terms", saying "you can never be prepared" for an event like this.
In Washington, about 200 people held a candlelight vigil for the victims outside the White House.