Police say the lone gunman who killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. has been identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, a native of the town about 90 minutes north of New York City. Lanza died at the scene, likely of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Lanza's mother Nancy taught at the school, and authorities say she may have been the first one killed. Many of the dead children were in her classroom at the time of the shooting.
At first, police mistakenly reported that the gunman was Ryan Lanza, Adam's 24-year-old brother. Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, New Jersey was unexpectedly found at home when police went to search the premises.
He told authorities his brother has had problems with mental illness in the past. Authorities say they have no reason to believe he was involved in the shootings and say he has been very cooperative, but he remains in police custody, and authorities are searching his computer and phone records.
Adam Lanza lived at home with his mother in Newtown. His parents divorced in 2009. He reportedly drove to Sandy Hook Elementary where his mother worked, using her car, wearing a bulletproof vest. He donned a mask and entered the building at 9:40 Friday morning.
Initial reports say Lanza had four guns, but police recovered only three, a .223-caliber rifle in a car parked behind the school and two handguns inside the building-a Glock and a Sig Sauer-presumably on Lanza's body.
President Obama read a statement this afternoon expressing his sadness and condolences.
"They had their entire lives ahead of them-birthday, weddings, kids of their own," Obama said, as he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years," he said. He offered Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy any resources he needed to investigate the tragedy.
Obama also said he was determined to prevent future tragedies, but he made no mention of how or what methods lawmakers should use.
The president did not bring up the issue of gun control, which has long been a subject off-limits for most politicians, who are afraid of repercussions from the politically powerful pro-gun rights lobbying group the National Rifle Association.
The shooting is the second largest in American history, smaller than only the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, in which 33 people including the gunman were killed.
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