20 Kids, 6 Adults Killed at Conn. Elementary School

Massacre is second-worst mass school shooting in U.S. history

A man opened fire Friday morning inside an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., where his mother perhaps taught or volunteered, killing 20 children and six adults before taking his own life, authorities said. A seventh adult was found dead inside the family home of the shooter not far from the school.

The shooting was the second-worst school massacre in U.S. history, with the death toll greater than that of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School outside Denver, when two teenage shooters killed 13 people before killing themselves. The massacre that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech in 2007 was the deadliest of U.S. school shootings, with 33 people left dead.

Numerous media reports including NBC, ABC and the Associated Press, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, identified the shooter as Adam Lanza, 20. He was found dead following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, after apparently killing himself, the AP reported.

President Barack Obama addressed the nation Friday afternoon, as he ordered U.S. flags flown at half staff at all government buildings and U.S. embassies around the world.

“Our hearts are broken today,” Obama said, visibly tearing up and wiping at his eyes.

"As a country we have been through this too many times," said the president, citing recent violence in the U.S. from the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., to the gun violence plaguing the streets of Chicago. “We have to take meaningful action to prevent these actions from happening again, regardless of the politics."

NBC News reported the shooter wore all black and was armed witih two 9 mm handguns, which were recovered at the school. An official said a .223-caliber rifle was also used in the attack.

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