14 DAY TRIAL // Tragedy hit the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut when one man entered the premises and opened fire on the teachers and children. The gunman has been identified: he is 20-year-old Adam Lanza and he is dead.
According to ABC News (see the video embedded below), Lanza probably chose the school for the shooting because his mother worked as a kindergarten teacher there.
Police are looking into the possibility that a fight between mother and son might have prompted this, seeing how she is one of the victims: she was found shot in the face at home.
Official figures released confirm that 18 children were shot and killed on the spot. Two more died later at the hospital from the gunshot wounds suffered.
Six adults also died, including the principal of the school, Dawn Hochsprung, and the gunman, who is believed to have killed himself.
His mother’s death brings the total of victims to 27.
“According to sources, Lanza shot his mother in the face, then left his house armed with at least two semi-automatic handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, and a semi-automatic rifle. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest,” ABC informs.
Reports that the shooter was wearing a mask at the time of the shooting have not been confirmed.
“Lanza drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School and continued his rampage, killing 26 people, authorities said. He was found dead at the school. It appeared that he died from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The rifle was found in his car,” the same media outlet says.
Though initial reports said that 2 shooters had been involved, it appears that only Lanza is now a suspect. His brother, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, is now being questioned by police.
Friends and family of both Lanza and his mother are being questioned in an effort to determine what might have prompted such a vicious, brutal act of violence.