As many as 27 people have been killed,
including many children, in a shooting attack at a primary school in the US
state of Connecticut, US media say.
At least 18 children are among the dead at
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, the Associated Press reported.
State police spokesman Paul Vance said the
gunman died at the scene - but would not confirm the number of deaths.
If confirmed, Newtown would be the
second-deadliest US shooting, after 32 people died at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Friday's shooting is the third major shooting
in the US in 2012.
In July an attack that killed 12 people at a
premiere of a Batman film in Aurora, Colorado. In August six people died at a
Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Children's
'eyes covered'
Governor Dannel Malloy is meeting the families
of the victims, a spokesman said, and is expected to visit the school later in
the day. He is expected to make a statement later on Friday.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told
reporters that US President Barack Obama had been informed of the incident and
was receiving regular updates.
Deadly US mass shootings
- 1984:
James Oliver Huberty shoots dead 21 people at a McDonald's in California
- 1986:
Postal worker Pat Sherrill kills 14 people at post office in Oklahoma
- 1991:
George Hennard kills 23 people at a cafeteria in Texas
- 1999:
Two students at Columbine high school kill 13 and injure 20, before
killing themselves
- 2007:
A student kills 32 and injures dozens more at Virginia Tech university
- 2009:
13 people are killed in a mass shooting at Ford Hood military base in
Texas
Sandy Hook School - described by
correspondents as a highly rated school has more than 600 students in classes
from Kindergarten to 4th Grade - spanning the ages five to 10.
Police arrived at the school soon after 09:40
local time (14:40 GMT), answering reports that a gunman was in the school's
main office and one person had "numerous gunshot wounds".
Scores of officers at the scene carried out a
full search of the site. Classes were cancelled as the situation developed.
Schools across the district were immediately
on lock-down as a preventive measure, officials said.
US TV networks identified the gunman as Ryan
Lanza, 24, reported to be from New Jersey. According to reports, his mother was
a teacher found among the dead at the school.
He was described as a man in his 20s, dressed
in black, with links to the school, a law enforcement official told the
Associated Press.
The official said the gunman used a
.223-calibre rifle during the attack, adding that police in the state of New
Jersey are investigating a location there in connection to the shooting.
With the death toll rising, it emerged that
one entire classroom of students may remain unaccounted for, local sources
reported.
Three other people were taken to hospital and
are reported to be in "very serious condition", Danbury Mayor Mark
Boughton told CNN.
One witness speaking to CNN said that shots
were heard coming from the hall. There "must have been 100 rounds"
fired, she told the channel.
Local media have reported that firefighters
instructed children to close their eyes and run past the school's office as
they exited the building.
Other sources suggest that some of the shots
were fired in a school classroom.
There were early unconfirmed reports of two
shooters, but no further details of a second gunman mentioned by police.
Story By. BBC
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