A federal official has identified and confirmed the name of the alleged shooter in Newtown, CT., as Adam Lanza, age 20. Lanza allegedly killed at least 26 people, including 20 children, Friday morning. Authorities responded to a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the young man carrying two 9mm handguns, and wearing all black clothing, was later found dead, according to a federal law enforcement official.
NBC’s Pete Williams has been told by several law enforcement officials that the gunman’s mother, a teacher at the Connecticut school, was found dead at the school.
A second person was in custody for a possible connection to the school shooting but was later released.
Students have estimated the shooting began around 9:30 a.m. One student told NBC Connecticut, “I was in the gym and I heard a loud, like seven loud booms, and the gym teachers told us to go in the corner, so we all huddled. And I kept hearing these booming noises. And we all … started crying. All the gym teachers told us to go into the office where no one could find us. So then a police officer came in and told us to run outside. So we did and we came in the firehouse and waited for our parents.”
Police received an emergency call from the elementary school shortly after 9:30 a.m., authorities quickly set up a staging area where students were evacuated and reunited with their families. Emergency vehicles fed across Fairfield County to the 600-student elementary school to respond to the victims, and Danbury Hospital went on lockdown and cleared four trauma rooms. The Associated Press reports that the hospital received only three patients, including a teacher who was shot. The FBI was on the scene, assisting with the investigation.









