Tragedy struck a Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The Hartford Courant reports more than 20 people were shot. Many school children are among the dead, reported at this time as 14 children and 13 adults who were shot by two assailants.
UPDATE: 4:04 CST: It now appears that the body reported found in Hoboken, New Jersey was factually inaccurate. Developing details continue to contradict early reports from the chaotic scene in CT.
UPDATE 3:05 CST: It now appears that Ryan Lanza is NOT the shooter, but his 20 year-old brother Adam Lanza is. Police initially mis-identified Adam because he was carrying Ryan’s ID with him during the incident before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ryan is being held in police custody for protection, and not as a suspected accomplice in the shooting.
UPDATE 2:32 CST: It appears that another member of the alleged shooter’s family is dead. A senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation says a brother of the alleged shooter was found dead in a home searched in Hoboken, New Jersey.
UPDATE 2:05 CST: Police have confirmed that a dead body found at Ryan Lanza’s house is his father.
UPDATE 2pm CST: The rumored shooter in this incident is a 24 year-old New Jersey resident Ryan Lanza.
UPDATED: The body count now stands at 18 children dead out of 27 total, according to MSN.com.
A gunman has also been killed and a teacher was shot in the foot, according to reports. Witnesses tell local news outlets they believe the school’s principal and psychologist are among the dead.
ABC News reports “more than a dozen persons” are dead. CBS News was told the number was up to 27 — 14 of them being children. CBS News is also reporting the shooter may have been a student’s father.
According to the Hartford Courant, a shooter was in the school’s main office around 9:41 a.m., when the first 911 call came in. The shooting may have begun during an administrative meeting and spread to a kindergarten classroom.
Danbury Hospital received three patients from the scene. The hospital is now on lockdown.
Two handguns were found at the scene, and some reports indicated there were two shooters — one who is now dead, according to the AP. Witnesses told WTNH they saw another adult man being handcuffed and put into a police car.