Reports of school shooting in Connecticut

Added by Erik West on December 14, 2012

Police and other emergency services responded to reports of a shooting at
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday morning (local time).

Updates: Refer to the following two stories for up to date details:

• Principal target of school shooting in Connecticut
• Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting claims 28

At least one person is reported dead along with one serious injury.

Update: 26 people are dead – 18 children, 8 adults; the worst US shooting. Four 9mm guns were used in the shooting, including a rifle. Another person, possibly connected with the shooting, is in custody.

President Barack Obama has been notified about the shooting incident and will receive regular updates throughout the day, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

“We’re still waiting for more information about the incident in Connecticut,” Carney said when asked about the president’s reaction to it.

Obama has sadi he remains committed to trying to renew a ban on assault weapons, Carney said

Carney said there would be time later for a discussion of policy implications.

Witnesses day the gunman had two guns and fired hundreds of rounds. The two handguns where a 9mm and Sig Sauer.

Initial reports said there were two gunmen, yet they updated reports and said there was one gunman. The school has been cleared of the gunman and police have not yet provided the status of the gunman.

Superintendent of schools Kathy June released the following statement: “Due to reports of a shooting as yet unconfirmed, the district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff. All public and private schools in the town are in a lockdown situation.”

The initial report of the shooting was a call to 911 at about 09:40 (local time) with a report of multiple shots and reports of students trapped in a classroom with a gunman.

Update:  A child in the school gymnasium said she heard seven loud shots – their teacher told them to hide in a corner. The children avoided screaming yet were crying. The teacher got the students to the office, where a policeman get them out of the school; the children went to the nearby fire station to wait for their parents.

Another witness said his sister hears screams on the intercom just before the school went into lock down, then hid in a closet with others.  As they were being lead out police got students to keep their eyes closed and hold hands – likely to avoid traumatizing them.

The shooter, 20 years old, is reportedly connected in some way to the school.
[end of update]

The local school district placed all schools in the area under lockdown. Students at Sandy Hook Elementary School have been evacuated from the school to a nearby fire station; one group of students is currently unaccounted for.

Emergency services setup a triage and treatment area at the fire station and there are reports of students being treated for trauma. A teacher has reportedly been shot, received non-life-threatening injury, and is being taken to a local hospital.

Three people were taken to Danbury Hospital, according to Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.

Sandy Hook Elementary School, located on Dickson Drive in Fairfield County is one of four schools in the district.

Today’s incident is among other incidents that include 22 children killed and 52 injured in China by a knife-wielding killer.