TWENTY SEVEN shot dead including 18 children and principal at Connecticut elementary as student's father armed with two handguns commits worst school shooting in American history
- The shooter – believed to be 24-years-old from New Jersey – is confirmed dead
- Second gunman now in custody
- One entire classroom is unaccounted for, sources said
- One teacher said masked gunman started firing out shots from kindergarten classroom shortly after 9.30am
- One student said there were bullets whizzing by him in the hallway
- At least 100 rounds are believed to have been fired
- Female principal is believed to have been targeted
- At least three seriously injured in hospital
- Two handguns found at the scene
At least 27 people are dead – including 18 children – after a gunman believed to be a student’s father opened fire today at an elementary school in Connecticut.
Police were dispatched to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown after they received reports of shots being fired by a gunman in one of the kindergarten classrooms of the school at 9.41am.
There are preliminary reports a student’s father, who is believed to be 24-years-old and from New Jersey, was the shooter. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and had four guns.
He was killed at the scene though it is unclear if he shot himself or was brought down by an officer.
A second man who was seen running from the scene right after the shooting was taken into custody a few hours later.
One mother told CBS that her child said there were bullets ‘whizzing by’ him in the hallway and that a teacher pulled him into a classroom.
Terrified parents rushed to the school desperately trying to reach their children as hundreds of officers swarmed over the school.
The shooting is the latest in a series of high-profile gun crimes in American schools and colleges, that is especially shocking given the age of the students involved
Speaking with MSNBC, one mother said she had heard the principal had been shot dead.
‘The principal was killed and some other people were shot,’ the unidentified woman said outside the school.
Her daughter added: ‘Miss Martin closed the door and we went into the corner’, before the gunman let out ‘lots of shots’.
Hundreds of officers, sniffer dogs, and firefighters patrol the streets outside Sandy Hook Elementary School to secure the area
Dawn Hochsprung, 47, has been the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary school since July 2010.[
One teacher is confirmed to have been shot in the foot and is being treated at a local hospital.
The mayor said they are not releasing names until next of kin have been notified.
Two handguns have been recovered at the scene and police have cordoned off a black Honda believed to belong to the dead shooter.
There are said to be a number of people with injuries. At least three are being treated at a local hospital.
It is unclear if the shooter shot himself or was killed by an officer.
Hundreds of officers and police dogs had the area surrounded as they worked to secure the scene.
Teachers and students were said to be in morning meetings when the shots were fired. The children were locked inside their classrooms until police came and evacuated them to a nearby fire station.
One child was seen being carried from the school by a police officer, apparently seriously wounded.
A person in one room had ‘numerous gunshot wounds’, police told the The Hartford Courant.
Frantic parents were rushing to the school as they were advised to go to the nearby fire station with ID to pick up their children.
A witness told News8 he saw one child with a bloodied face and another with a hand injury.
The school has about 600 students.
President Obama was first notified of the shooting at a Connecticut elementary school at 10:30am , White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
The president has been receiving updates and will continue to throughout the day, Carney added.
‘If we get more information and as we get more information, we’ll certainly provide it to you. The president as a father and I as a father certainly … feel enormous sympathy for families that are affected and to do everything we can to support state and local law enforcement, to support those who are enduring what appears to be a very tragic event.’
First Selectman Pat Llodra toldPatch that there is no information being released about the victims — only confirming that there was a shooting.
‘I’m horrified, saddened and shocked that this happened in Newtown,’ Llodra said. ‘Our priorities right now are making sure everyone safe and reuniting parents with their children.’
One mother of an eight-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.
Mrs Lebinski said that she had spoken to her daughter’s teacher who was in the school at the time of the shooting, and that a masked gunman had shot adults in the school.
‘My daughter’s teacher is my hero,’ Lebinski said. ‘She locked all the kids in a closet and that saved their lives.’
Teachers and students were said to be in morning meetings when the shots were fired. The children were locked inside their classrooms until police came and evacuated them to a nearby fire station
As well as police and firefighters, there were reports that a bomb squad was being called into the school. A helicopter was also flying over the scene
There are unconfirmed reports of two shooters, one is believed to be dead and the other still at large
There were reports of frantic parents rushing to the school though officials are telling them to stay at home by the phone
Sandy Hook Elementary School is located on Dickinson Drive in Newtown, Connecticut
SECURITY MEASURES CAN’T PREVENT ANOTHER U.S. SCHOOL SHOOTING
American public schools use a variety of security measures to protect students and staff.
Almost 94 per cent of U.S. elementary schools lock their doors during the school day to restrict access to campuses.
Some 84 per cent of high schools, 73 per cent of middle schools, and 51 per cent of elementary schools use security cameras to monitor their schools, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Increasing numbers of security guards are in place at U.S. public schools as a result of gun crime with metal detectors also in use across the country.
Yet despite security measures school shootings in America are still common place.
On February 10 2012 a 14-year-old from New Hampshire called Hunter Mack shot himself in the face at Walpole Elementary School cafeteria.
Two weeks later student T.J. Lane, 17, allegedly opened fire at Chardon High School, Ohio, killing two and injuring three.
Seven were killed and 10 injured at a shooting at Oikos University, in Oakland, California on 2 April. One L. Goh, 43, a Korean national surrendered to police.
Police arrested 15-year-old Robert Gladden and charged him as an adult after a student opened fire on the first day of school, at Perry Hall High School, Baltimore, in August. The 15-year-old allegedly opened fire before being rushed by teachers.
Teachers again stopped a shooter on September 7 when a 14-year-old was tackled to the floor after shooting at the ceiling at Normal Community High School, Illinois.
On September 26 eight grader Cade Poulos killed himself at Stillwater Junior High School in Oklahoma.
Follow Us
