From The Associated Press: With security stepped up and families still on edge, students in Newtown, Conn., have returned to classes for the first time since last week's shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School. All Newtown schools except Sandy Hook resumed classes Tuesday morning. At Newtown High School, students said they expected most of the day would be spent talking about the shooting.
EARLIER:
From The Associated Press: A grieving Newtown, Conn., is bracing to bury the first two of the 20 children killed by a gunman that attacked their school last week. Authorities could not say when or whether the school, now a crime scene and forever a place of tragedy, would reopen. Six adults, including the principal and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School, also died in the shooting attack. Authorities say the gunman, Adam Lanza, 20, was carrying hundreds of rounds of ammunition, enough to kill just about every student in the Sandy Hook if given enough time. The shooter decided to kill himself when he heard police closing in, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said.
ALSO...From The New Haven Register: Police in Connecticut say the death toll at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown would have been higher if it weren't for those who helped save lives on the scene. Police Lt. J. Paul Vance says: "I can tell you the faculty and staff in that school did everything that they possibly could to protect those children. I can tell you the first responders who got to that scene and the active shooter team that entered the school saved many human lives." Two adults were wounded in Friday's shooting attack but survived and are expected to help authorities determine some of what happened in the attack.
VIGIL: President Obama spoke Sunday night at a prayer vigil in Newtown: "I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation," the president said. "I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts. I can only hope it helps for you to know that you're not alone in your grief; that our world too has been torn apart...you are not alone." Obama also called for action to end the violence that plagues the nation.
"We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law -- no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this."
Read the full text of the president's remarks.
View the video of the president's remarks.
FRIDAY, DEC. 14
From The New York Times: A gunman killed 26 people, 20 of them small children, in a shooting on Friday morning at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. The gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary and opened fire. He also shot seven other adults, and then killed himself inside the school. Newtown is about 65 miles northeast of New York City. Sandy Hook houses students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
More from AP: Authorities are reporting that the name of the gunman is is Adam Lanza, 20.
UPDATE: Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said at an afternoon news briefing that 18 children died at the school from gunshots; two other children died later at a hospital. In addition, six adults were killed at the school before the gunman took his own life. Another adult victim was found dead at a residence in Newtown. The residence is believed to be the home of the gunman's mother.
PRESIDENTIAL REACTION: President Obama delivers a statement to the nation about the Newtown shooting.
MORE: Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance briefed reporters Friday afternoon, but said he could not yet disclose details about the numbers of students and staff members who were killed or injured. He did confirm that the gunman was killed inside the school building.
Vance said that police received a 911 call shortly after 9:30 a.m. Friday about an emergency at Sandy Hook Elementary. Newtown police requested assistance from the state police, and authorities arrived at the school and ushered students and staff out of the building.
A spokesman says Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy was meeting Friday afternoon with families of those affected by the shootings. President Barack Obama has talked with Malloy to express condolences and offer any assistance that might be needed.
MORE from The Associated Press: A law enforcement official says the attacker in the Connecticut school shootings is a 20-year-old man with ties to the school. The official said that a gun used in the attacks is a .223-caliber rifle. The official also said that New Jersey state police are searching a location in that state in connection with the shootings.
