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Newtown School Gunman 'Forced His Way In', Police Say
BBC NEWS, US & CANADA
December 15, 2012: The gunman who killed 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, forced his way into the building, police say. The suspect, named in media reports as Adam Lanza, was not "voluntarily let in", said Lt Paul Vance. He said police had found "very good evidence" which would help them establish a motive. The only person hurt in the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School would be "instrumental" in the inquiry, he said.
The gunman killed his mother at the home they shared before driving to the school in her car and opening fire. Reports say the guns used in the attacks were registered to her. President Obama has urged "meaningful action" against gun crime in the US in the wake of the attack. "As a country we have been through this too many times," he said in an emotional White House address. "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."
American flags on Washington's Capitol Hill were lowered to half-mast and about 200 people held a candlelight vigil for the victims. A vigil and a memorial service were held in Newtown, a prosperous town of about 27,000 people.
The children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary were aged between five and 10, although the exact ages of the victims have not been revealed. All the victims have now been identified, Lt Vance said, and their names would be released later.
'Absolutely quiet'
Friday's killings took place in two rooms within a single section of the school, police have said. The shooting lasted just a few minutes. As they heard the shots, teachers in other parts of the building tried to protect children by locking doors and ushering them into closets.
"I told them we had to be absolutely quiet, because I was just so afraid if he did come in, then he would hear us and just start shooting the door," said teacher Kaitlin Roig. "I said to them, 'I need you to know that I love you all very much and that it's going to be okay', because I thought that was the last thing they were ever going to hear."
Early reports named 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, New Jersey, as the gunman, but unnamed officials later said his brother Adam was the suspect. Ryan Lanza was questioned by police, US media reported, but has not been named as a suspect.
The attack at Newtown is the second deadliest shooting attack at a US school or university. In 2007, a student at Virginia Tech University killed 32 people and injured many more.
