Thread: 27 dead, 18 children, in Conn. school shooting (AP)

Official: 27 dead, 18 children, in Conn. school shooting (AP)

Friday, December 14, 2012

JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- An official with knowledge of a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school says 27 people are dead, including 18 children.


Newtown school shooting photos

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.

The shooter was killed and apparently had two guns, a person with knowledge of the shooting said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.

The number of deaths is unknown, but a gunman is said to be among the fatalities. Police said some of the shooting victims are children.

A dispatcher at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps said a teacher had been shot in the foot and taken to Danbury Hospital.

Stephen Delgiadice said his 8-year-old daughter heard two big bangs and teachers told her to get in a corner. His daughter was fine.

"It's alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America," he said.

The superintendent's office said the district had locked down schools in Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City. Schools in neighboring towns also were locked down as a precaution.

State police said Newtown police called them around 9:40 a.m.

A photo posted by The Newtown Bee newspaper showed a group of young students - some crying, others looking visibly frightened - being escorted by adults through a parking lot in a line, hands on each other's shoulders.
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WABC-TV contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Michael Melia contributed to this report from Hartford.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/national_world&id=8917789