Newtown Shooting: Gunman Was Honours Student

The gunman behind the Connecticut school shooting was an honours student who lived in a wealthy neighbourhood with his mother.

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother Nancy at the home in Newtown they shared. He then drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where she had worked, and killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life.

So far, authorities have not spoken publicly of any possible motive. They found no note or manifesto, and Lanza - who was armed with at least two handguns and a high powered rifle - had no criminal history. He did not speak during the shooting, witnesses say.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said investigators believe Lanza attended Sandy Hook Elementary School several years ago.

Lanza attended Newtown High School and several local news clippings from recent years mention his name among the school's honour roll students.

Adam Lanza was described as socially awkward

Officials have said Lanza may have suffered from a personality disorder - and the gunman's older brother, Ryan Lanza, believes Adam did as well.

Police reportedly earlier confused Adam Lanza with Ryan, whose identity card he had been carrying with him when he went into the school.

The shooter's brother had been extremely cooperative and was not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records.

Ryan Lanza told police officers he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

Brett Wilshe, a friend of Ryan Lanza's, said he sent him a Facebook message on Friday asking what was going on and if he was OK.

Ryan Lanza, the gunman's brother, has been interviewed by police

According to Wilshe, Ryan Lanza's reply was something along the lines of: "It was my brother. I think my mother is dead. Oh my God."

Adam Lanza's aunt Marsha said her nephew was raised by kind, nurturing parents who would not have hesitated to seek mental help for him if he needed it.

Marsha Lanza said she was close with Nancy Lanza and sent her a Facebook message on Friday morning asking how she was doing. Nancy Lanza never responded.

She described Nancy Lanza as a good mother and kind-hearted. If her son had needed counselling, "Nancy wasn't one to deny reality," she said.

Marsha Lanza said her husband saw Adam as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary about him.

Catherine Urso, who was attending a vigil on Friday evening in Newtown, said her college-age son knew the killer and remembered him for his alternative style.

"He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths," she said.

Adam Lanza belonged to the school's technology club, which held LAN - short for local area network - parties, when students would gather at a member's home, hook up their computers into a small network and play games.

Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High School in 2009, said Adam Lanza was generally a happy person but that he had not seen him in a few years.

"We would hang out, and he was a good kid. He was smart," Joshua Milas said.

"He was probably one of the smartest kids I know. He was probably a genius."

Responders gather at the scene of the school shooting

Lanza's parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records.

His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Connecticut, according to public records, and he reportedly works as a tax director for General Electric.

An official said it was not clear that Adam Lanza had a job, and there was no indication of law enforcement interviews or search warrants at a place of business.

A neighbour in Newtown, Rhonda Cullens, said she knew Nancy Lanza from monthly get-togethers the neighbourhood women had some years ago for games of bunco, a dice game.

"She was a very nice lady," Ms Cullens said.

"She was just like all the rest of us in the neighbourhood, just a regular person."

Sandeep Kapur, who lives two doors down from the Lanza family in Newtown, said he did not know them and was unaware of any disturbances at the Lanza house in the three years that he and his family have been in the neighbourhood.

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British Boy Dies In US School Shooting

A British-born boy has been named as one of the victims of the worst school shooting in America's history, Sky News has learned.

Dylan Hockley, 6, was shot dead by a gunman at an elementary school in Connecticut.

He was born in Hampshire to a British father and American mother.

Twenty children and seven adults, including the gunman's mother, died before Adam Lanza, 20, turned a gun on himself at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

It has been confirmed that US President Barack Obama will attend a memorial service in Newtown later today, and will speak at an interfaith vigil for families of the victims.

Meanwhile, a father has paid an emotional tribute to his murdered six-year-old daughter, after police released the names of the gunman's 27 victims.

Robbie Parker said his final conversation with Emilie was in Portuguese, the language he was helping to teach her.

Two women like candles in Newtown in memory of the victims

"She told me 'good morning' and asked how I was doing, and I said that I was doing well," he told reporters.

"She said that she loved me, and I gave her a kiss and I was out the door."

Headteacher Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach both died as they tried to confront the gunman.

The pair were in a meeting with therapist Diane Day on Friday, when the gunman began shooting at 9.30am.

On hearing the shots, they both jumped out of their seats and ran out of the room.

"They didn't think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on," Ms Day said.

Ms Hochsprung is also believed to have switched on a loudspeaker system in the school to alert students and staff to the danger.

"She was just an amazing woman ... the kids loved her. It's a huge loss for our school and our town," said assistant librarian Maryanne Jacobs.

Fourth-grade teacher Theodore Varga said: "You could hear the hysteria that was going on.

"Whoever did that saved a lot of people. Everyone in the school was listening to the terror that was transpiring."

Another hero was said to be first-grade teacher Vicki Leigh Soto, 27, described by police as someone who "put herself between the kids and the gunman's bullets".

Her body was found huddled with the students in a classroom closet, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A woman and child pray outside a church in the town

Youth soccer coach David Flook, originally from Northampton, England, told Sky News of the turmoil his town is now in.

"Everybody is absolutely devastated. People don't know what they can do," he said.

He described Newtown as the "least dangerous place on earth".

He added: "It was the perfect town."

The father of gunman Adam Lanza released a statement on Saturday night. He said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured.

"We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why."

On Saturday, police released a list of all the victims of Lanza: Charlotte Bacon, age 6, Daniel Barden, 7, Olivia Engel, 6, Josephine Gay, 7, Ana M Marquez-Greene, 6, Dylan Hockley, 6, Madeleine F Hsu, 6, Catherine V Hubbard, 6, Chase Kowalski , 7, Jesse Lewis, 6, James Mattioli, 6, Grace McDonnell, 7, Emilie Parker, 6, Jack Pinto, 6, Noah Pozner, 6, Caroline Previdi, 6, Jessica Rekos, 6, Avielle Richman, 6, Benjamin Wheeler, 6, Allison N Wyatt, 6, Rachel Davino, 29, Dawn Hochsprung, 47, Nancy Lanza, 52, Anne Marie Murphy, 52, Lauren Rousseau, 30, Mary Sherlach, 56, and Victoria Soto, 27.

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Newtown Principal Dawn Hochsprung Among Dead

A headteacher and a school psychologist went to the aid of their students after hearing gunshots at a Connecticut school, according to reports.

Dawn Hochsprung and therapist Diane Day were in a meeting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Friday morning when the gunman, thought to be the son of a teacher at the school, began shooting at around 9.30am.

The pair leaped out of their seats after hearing gunshots and ran to see what was going on, according to Ms Day.

She told the Wall Street Journal: "We were there for about five minutes chatting, and we heard Pop! Pop! Pop!

"I went under the table. They didn't think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on."

Ms Hochsprung is believed to have switched on a loudspeaker system in the school to alert students and staff to the danger.

A woman comforts a girl at a vigil to the shooting victims on Friday night

Fourth-grade teacher Theodore Varga said: "You could hear the hysteria that was going on.

"Whoever did that saved a lot of people. Everyone in the school was listening to the terror that was transpiring."

He added that a school caretaker also ran out warning people there was a gunman on the premises.

Ms Hochsprung was confirmed to be among seven adults and 20 children killed during the rampage. The school psychologist was also reported to have been killed.

The masked gunman - reportedly armed with a Glock and a Sig Sauer handguns as well as a .223-calibre rifle - has been named as 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

Robert Licata, whose six-year-old son was in one of the classrooms when the gunman burst in and opened fire, said he told him the shooter did not say anything.

He said: "That's when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door.

"He was very brave. He waited for his friends."

First-grade teacher Kaitlin Roig barricaded her 15 students inside a tiny bathroom with a bookshelf and told them to be "absolutely quiet".

She told ABC News: "I said, 'there are bad guys out there now. We need to wait for the good guys'.

"They asked, 'Can we go see if anyone is out there? I just want Christmas. I don't want to die, I just want to have Christmas.'"

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Newtown Shooting: Adam Lanza Leaves 27 Dead

The United States is in shock after a man murdered his mother at home before gunning down 20 children and six adults in a school.

The heavily armed gunman, named as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot the children, who were aged between five and 10 years old, inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

US media said the headteacher, Dawn Hochsprung, was among those killed in the shooting, which began at around 9:30am – just after school started.

Lanza, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying two handguns, committed suicide at the school.

An emotional US President Barack Obama wiped tears from his eyes as he told a stunned country: "Our hearts are broken today."

A young boy weeps after learning of the elementary school massacre

Mr Obama hinted at possible gun law reform, declaring that the latest atrocity signals that the country should come together to take meaningful action, "regardless of the politics".

Of the children killed, Mr Obama said: "They had their entire lives ahead of them - birthdays, graduations, wedding, kids of their own." 

Children told their parents they had heard bangs and, at one point, a scream over the intercom. Teachers ordered them to hide in closets or corners.

"I was going back to my classroom and I heard like a person kicking on the door and I turned around I smelled smoke," an eight-year-old boy told NBC.

President Obama hinted at gun law reform in an emotional address

Reports said Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, and then drove to the school in her car.

At least three guns were found - a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, inside the school, and a high-powered rifle in the back of the car, authorities said.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said some of the guns used in the attack may have belonged to Lanza's mother, who had legally purchased five weapons.

The attack, just two weeks before Christmas, was America's second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech university massacre in 2007 that left 32 dead.

The shooting happened at a school in the town, 60 miles from New York

Authorities offered little clue as to the motive for the shootings in the picturesque small town northeast of New York City.

The gunman was believed to suffer from a personality disorder and lived with his mother in an affluent part of Newtown.

State police Lt Paul Vance said just one person suffered an injury and survived, indicating that the gunman was unusually accurate or methodical in his fire.

Lanza's older brother Ryan, 24, of Hoboken, New Jersey, has been questioned by police but a law enforcement official said he was not believed to have had any role in the shooting and was "extremely cooperative".

Ryan Lanza told law enforcement he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

There was chaos as children were ushered to safety after the shootings

Hours after the shooting, hundreds of people gathered for a vigil, the crowd filling the church to capacity and spilling outside its doors.

Some lit candles while others joined hands to sing Christmas songs.

"Evil visited this community today," State Governor Dan Malloy said earlier.

Frantic parents rushed to the school to find out if their children were OK

David Connors, whose triplets were at the school during the shooting but were unharmed, said he was still horrified.

"It's hard. I've never imagined a thing like that could happen here."

Police said they expected to be able to make public the identities of the victims later on Saturday.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them."

The Queen sent a message to Mr Obama in which she said she was "deeply shocked and saddened".

US flags were flown at half mast over the Capitol and White House

UN chief Ban Ki-moon wrote to Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy to give his "deepest condolences at the shocking murders," a statement said.

"The targeting of children is heinous and unthinkable," he added in condemning the "horrendous" crime.

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Flood Threat As Heavy Rain Hits South Coast

Britain is on flood alert this morning as high winds and heavy rainfall begin to sweep in from the South West.

The Environment Agency has warned residents - many still mopping up after last month's widespread flooding - to brace themselves for a combination of heavy rain and storm surges.

Thirteen flood warnings have been issued across the South West and Wales, while a further 47 areas across Scotland, England and Wales have been told to prepare for possible flooding.

The Environment Agency has also issued a flood alert near Swansea and Port Talbot.

The ground in parts of south and west Wales remains saturated from last month's heavy rainfall, the agency said.

Between 20mm and 30mm of rain is expected to fall over the next 24 hours in the South West and Wales.

High winds of up to 60mph will affect much of the UK, reaching up to 70mph in north-east Scotland.

Heavy rain has already started to fall across the South West, which will bear the brunt of the severe weather.

The public have been advised to stay away from seafronts, quaysides and jetties along the south coast to avoid powerful waves.

Nick Roseveare, of the Environment Agency, said: "We are keeping a close eye on conditions around our coastline and will issue flood warnings if the risk of flooding increases.

"The critical periods will be the early morning tides over the next three days.

"If they coincide with rain, there's a risk of tide-locking, where water is held in rain-swollen rivers and cannot escape into the sea because of the high tides. This could result in localised flooding."

Those in areas of risk have been urged by the Environment Agency to check their website and Twitter feed for the latest updates, or to call the floodline on 0845 988 1188.

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Savile Revelations Spark NSPCC Abuse Campaign

The NSPCC has launched a campaign in a bid to prevent people thinking sexual abuse is a problem from the past following the Jimmy Savile abuse revelations.

The children's charity is worried that due to many of Savile's victims being abused in the 1970s and 80s, people may believe sexual abuse is not as common now as it was then.

The charity also fears that people still don't know where to turn for help or that they will hesitate to report child abuse until they feel 100% certain.

Peter Watt, director of the NSPCC helpline, said: "By bravely speaking out, Savile's victims have done a great public service in raising awareness of child sex abuse and its long-lasting, devastating effect on victims.

"Our advert aims to remind people that child abuse remains a widespread problem and children are still abused today.

"To end their suffering and bring their abusers to justice we must all act now. Savile's victims waited decades to be heard and helped. We can't let this happen again.

"With this advert we want to send out a clear message about how vitally important it is to act on your suspicions and that the NSPCC is here to help you do this.

"Our trained counsellors will discuss your concerns and the best course of action."

Some 589 people have come forward with information relating to the Savile scandal, with a total of 450 complaints against the the BBC presenter and DJ himself, mainly alleging sexual abuse, Scotland Yard said.

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Royal Prank Call Nurse's Inquest Set To Open

Timeline: Nurse Prank Call Tragedy

Updated: 2:04am UK, Thursday 13 December 2012

Here are some of the key developments surrounding the death of hospital nurse Jacintha Saldanha following a hoax phone call by two Australian radio hosts.

Monday, December 3
The Duchess of Cambridge is admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital in London with severe morning sickness.

Tuesday, December 4
2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian make their hoax call to the hospital in the early hours of the morning, posing as the Queen and Prince Charles. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha puts them through to a colleague who divulges details of how doctors have been treating the Duchess.

Wednesday, December 5
A King Edward VII's Hospital spokesman confirms the Australian radio station made the prank call, saying it "deplores" the act and is conducting a review of its phone system.

Thursday, December 6
The Duchess of Cambridge leaves hospital.

Friday, December 7
:: Ms Saldanha is pronounced dead at staff accommodation close to the hospital. She is thought to have taken her own life, although a post-mortem examination is yet to be held.

:: King Edward VII's Hospital releases a statement saying: "It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff, Ms Saldanha. She was an excellent nurse and well-respected and popular with all of her colleagues."

:: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge send their condolences to Ms Saldanha's family.

Saturday, December 8
:: Ms Saldanha's family in southwest India speak of their heartache. Her mother-in-law, Carmine Barboza, says: "Jacintha was a very caring woman. She used to call us every Sunday without fail. We just cannot believe what has happened."

:: Ms Greig and Mr Christian go on indefinite leave from the radio station after they are bombarded with abusive and threatening messages on social media websites.

::  Lord Glenarthur, chairman of the King Edward VII's Hospital, writes a latter to 2Day FM calling for the "truly appalling" broadcast to "never be repeated".

:: Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of Southern Cross Austereo which owns 2Day FM, describes the events over the past few days as "tragic", but adds: "The outcome was unforeseeable and very regrettable."

Sunday, December 9
:: It emerges Mel Greig and Michael Christian may be questioned by London's Metropolitan Police.

:: Ms Greig and Mr Christian express a desire to speak about the tragedy, but are still in hiding.

:: The Australian Communications and Media Authority, which regulates radio broadcasting, says it is considering whether it should launch an investigation into whether the presenters breached the commercial radio code of practice.

Monday, December 10

:: Mr Christian and Ms Greig break their silence, expressing their regret and sorrow over the tragedy in a series of emotional Australian TV interviews. They insist they never expected their phone call to go so far and thought hospital staff would hang up on them. Both extend sympathy to Ms Saldanha's family.

:: The family pay tribute to a "loving mother and wife". Speaking on their behalf, MP Keith Vaz says: "They are really grateful for the support of the British public and the public overseas for the messages of support and kindness."

Tuesday, December 11

:: A memorial fund for Ms Saldanha's family is set up by the radio station. Parent company Southern Cross Austereo is expected to contribute AUS$500,000 (£326,000).

Wednesday, December 12

:: Sky sources reveal that Ms Saldanha was found hanged in her room at staff accommodation. At Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron says: "She clearly loved her job, loved her work, cared deeply about the health of her patients, and what's happened is a complete tragedy. There are many lessons that need to be learned."

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