Horrible In Newtown

From Hearst Newspapers:

State police said 26 people including 20 children were massacred in a bloodbath at Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday morning by a lone gunman.

The gunman is also dead, state police have confirmed. A second crime scene has been established at a Newtown home, where a body was found after the shooting.

There are conflicting reports on who the shooter was.

CNN originally identified the shooter as Ryan Lanza, 24, a Hoboken, N.J. resident.

But Fox News has now reported that Ryan Lanza is alive, in Hoboken and said he is talking to police. Fox News is reporting that Lanza’s 20-year-old brother, Adam, was the shooter. The AP is also reporting that the shooter is 20, and his brother is cooperating with the police investigation.

A Facebook page belonging to Ryan Lanza, a former Newtown resident who lived in Hoboken, N.J. who studied at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, has been taken down. Before it was deleted, Ryan Lanza posted on the page and said he wasn’t the shooter. Newtown Patch reported that someone spoke to Ryan Lanza after the shooting and he said it wasn’t him.

State police haven’t released the shooter’s name.

Police in Sandy Hook are at a house on Yogananda Street and have surrounded it with yellow tape. The house is owned by Lanza’s mother, Nancy, according to public records. Sources said Nancy Lanza, was a teacher at Sandy Hook School.

Few other details were immediately available, and other reports contradicted those numbers.

But local, state and federal authorities swooped down on the school about 9:40 a.m. after someone called 911 from inside the school and reported the shooting.

A neighbor there, Diane Froelick, said it’s a peaceful, quiet neighborhood.

“You never expect anything like this,” Froelick said. “It’s just so tragic.”

WFSB has reported that a body, possibly the shooter’s mother, was found inside the house.

One victim has been identified.

Sandy Hook School principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsberg was a smart, positive, enthusiastic educator, said Danbury Deputy superintendent William Glass.

Glass received confirmation Friday that Hochsberg was killed in the shooting at her school.

Glass hired her for the Danbury schools as an assistant principal.

“She had a tremendous intellect and a wonderful way with children,” he said.

“It would not be unusual to see her down on the floor working side by side with students.”

She had a wonderful sense of humor and was always smiling.

“That was her trademark,” he said.” She was an amazing educator. She was everything you would want.”

During an early afternoon news conference in Newtown, Roy Occhiogrosso, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s senior adviser, said that the governor was visiting with families.

“As you can imagine the governor is horrified by what’s happened,” Occhiogrosso said. “He is meeting with the families right now. His chief concern is to get the families the information they need as quickly as possible.”

Occhiogrosso said that President Obama made a call to Malloy to voice support.

State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance declined to give more than broad-brush details of the shooting, which was first reported at about 9:30 a.m. Newtown Police requested assistance from the State Police and law enforcement from surrounding towns.

“The public is not in danger,” Vance said.

Newtown Police arrived on the scene and conducted a search for the shooters.

“Our main objective was to evacuate as quickly and efficiently as possible any and all students and faculty in the school,” Vance said. “There were several fatalities at the scene, both students and staff. There’s no information relative to that that’s being released at this time until we make a complete and proper notification. The shooter is deceased inside the building.

“There’s a great deal of work that is undertaken immediately upon locating the shooter and that is there’s a great deal of search warrant activity, there’s a great deal of law enforcement activity, both in and out of the state, to be sure we cover all the bases relative to that specific individual,” Vance said.

Panicked parents rushed to the suburban school this morning after the unidentified gunman wounded a school employee, authorities and sources said. There were also reports that another gunman was involved, and Danbury police had surrounded a van in that city investigating the incident.

Several students were reportedly brought to Danbury Hospital’s emergency room this morning, but the extent of their injuries was unclear.

Andrea Rynn, spokeswoman for the Western Connecticut Health Network, which runs Danbury Hospital, said three patients were taken to the hospital and it’s not expected any other patients will be sent there. The hospital emergency department is on lockdown as a precautionary measure, but is still accepting patients.

There are armed guards outside the hospital.

A parent from Shelton whose 6-year-old son is a student at Sandy Hook Elementary School was at the hospital, and said he doesn’t know whether he is OK.

“He’s the only family I have left,” said Neil Heslin.

While both ABC and CBS reported that multiple children had been shot, other sources said the pupils had been cut by flying glass caused by the shooting.

A 9-year-old student heard the gunshots this morning.

“I saw police with big guns,” said Venesa Bajraliu. “It was a little scary.”

She said she was in her classroom when she heard shots, about 20. The class was instructed to go into the teacher’s office, she said.

Police came and took the students out, telling them to close their eyes.

The United Methodist Church, down the hill from the school, has opened a sanctuary for families and anyone who has come to the scene. The American Red Cross is setting up in the church’s basement to help first responders. The Red Cross is also going to the town hall to provide grief counseling and other support.

A hospital official confirmed that three people were transported from the scene to the hospital. No information on their conditions is immediately available.

Danbury Police Chief Al Baker said people were killed in the shooting, but offered no specifics. He brought in extra officers to Danbury Hospital to control the “chaos expected as parents and media arrive.”

Children are being evacuated to the Sandy Hook firehouse and all schools in town are locked down.

A parent who picked up their child at the school reported that children were advised by a fireman to close their eyes and run past the office, where the shooting reportedly occurred during an administrators meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson is at the firehouse where parents are picking up their children. She has been trying to contact the school’s principal.

Andrea Rynn, spokeswoman for Western Connecticut Health Network, said Danbury Hospital’s emergency department has convened its emergency team to be ready for the victims of this incident. She did not say how many victims are expected from the shooting.

Rynn said that “out of an abundance of caution” the hospital put its emergency department on lockdown Friday. There is no direct threat to the department, she said.

John Murphy, president and CEO of the Western Conn. Health Network, which runs the hospital said “Many people were and will be affected by the events here today.”

“It is the most traumatic event that I have ever experienced or even considered,” Murphy said. “This is our community. We’re all hurting.”

Bridgeport Hospital spokesman John Cappiello said one woman was brought to the hospital from the Sandy Hook School shooting. Her injuries are not considered life-threatening, he said.

Danbury parochial schools and Bethel schools are in lockdown as a precaution. Danbury schools are keeping close watch.

Baker said he brought an extra shift of officers for the schools. While indications are the Danbury schools are safe, he said it would be “prudent to take precautions.”

“We are doing our due diligence to make sure our schools are safe,” Baker said.

The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting.

State Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, a gun-control advocate, said Friday that a bill failed last year that would banned the possession of ammunition among people prohibited from having guns. “They are more restrictive than many states,” Looney said in the Capitol.

Connecticut’s gun laws are tougher than the national average. Consumers need permits to buy handguns. Assault-style weapons are banned as is the possession of bullet-proof vests. Another law, adopted about 10 years ago, lets neighbors who are suspicious of the activities of other neighbors to file police reports. Also, people with protective orders filed against them are prohibited from owning firearm.