

NEWTOWN, Conn. - As this small Connecticut town mourned Saturday, teams of detectives continued to work at the school where 20 students were killed, going over "every crack and crevice of that facility," a state police spokesman said.


A law enforcement source told the New Haven Register that Lanza got out of his vehicle in front of the school, shot out the glass next to the main entrance and then went inside the building. He began firing at staff members and students with a rifle and a pistol, and then proceeded to classrooms, where he continued shooting.

On Saturday, authorities were preparing to release the names of those killed in the chilling massacre, in which Lanza killed his mother and 26 others before committing suicide inside a local elementary school. Friends and co-workers identified Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherloch as two of the victims, and news organizations were continuing to identify other victims.



Brenda Lebinski finally walked away from an illuminated Treadwell Park just before 9:30 p.m. Friday night, her eyes red from crying. She said she was heading to her car that had been parked at Sandy Hook since the morning.

As her daughter, Sofia Lebinksi, a third-grader at the school, followed closely behind to finally go home and go to bed, Lebinski said she is "going to count every blessing" that Sofia survived.


The death toll at Sandy Hook - 26 students and adults - made it the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, where 32 were killed. Police said the suspected shooter, Adam Lanza, killed himself at the school, and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at her nearby home, bringing the overall toll to 28.

There were multiple reports that Lanza, who lived with his mother, woke up and shot her to death. Then, he took her car and drove to the school where she worked, and unleashed bullets in two classrooms.



Vance said officers arrived instantaneously, immediately entered the school, breaking windows and searching it completely before finding Lanza dead. Later, three guns were found: a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, inside the school, and a .223-caliber rifle in the back of a car. Vance said at a Saturday morning news conference that investigators were tracking the history of each of the three weapons recovered.




Witnesses described a chaotic scene inside the school as the shooter opened fire, eventually killing 20 students between the ages of 5 and 10. One teacher was shot and survived, and police believe she will provide critical evidence for them.





"It's the most terrible moment of a parent's life - you have no idea," Richard Wilson said.

Their son, Richie, 7, later said the shots sounded like "really loud pots were banging." A tearful President Barack Obama addressed the nation just after 3 p.m. on Friday. "I know there is not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do," said Obama, who paused several times during his remarks to compose himself and dab his eyes. "The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. "They had their entire lives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own."



Late Friday, police remained at the school, gathering evidence. Meanwhile, families affected by the shootings turned to each other and to faith community for comfort. Thousands gathered at church services to show support for the families who lost loved ones.


Rachel Rockwell, a former Sandy Hook student, traveled back from college in Massachusetts to attend the vigil.


Inside the Newtown Methodist Church, residents gathered to pray and to grieve. The congregation sang: "Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain." The stifled tears of congregants were betrayed by quiet sniffs. Men and women discreetly dabbed tears from their eyes.

When the clergyman asked congregants to offer prayers to those affected by the tragedy, the names of those whose lives were taken were uttered. The names of those who knew someone affected were spoken.
