Multiple Prayer Vigils Held For Conn. Shooting Victims

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

We begin this hour with tragedy in Connecticut. This morning, around nine o'clock, a gunman walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He was armed and, at some point, began shooting.

SIEGEL: In the end, 20 children are confirmed dead, as well as six adults killed in the school. NPR can confirm that one of those adults was a teacher and mother of the gunman. Authorities have also confirmed that the shooter died inside the school and another adult is confirmed dead elsewhere in Newtown. In all, 28 people are now confirmed dead. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: The mother of the gunman was not a teacher at the school; she was the adult found dead elsewhere.]

CORNISH: President Obama spoke about the shooting just a short time ago.

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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news, I react not as a president, but as anybody else would, as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there is not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do. The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of five and 10 years old.

CORNISH: Connecticut's Governor Dan Malloy spoke at the scene, followed by State Police Lieutenant J. Paul Vance with the latest details.

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J. PAUL VANCE: As has been reported, there were fatalities. There were 18 children that were pronounced dead at the school. There were two that were transported to area hospitals and pronounced dead at area hospitals and there were six adults pronounced dead at the scene at the school. As the governor has reported, the shooter is deceased and he's deceased in the school. There's great deal of work going on relative to that. That's the reason we have not identified him as of yet.

CORNISH: Lieutenant Vance also said the connected homicide that occurred elsewhere in Newtown was an adult found dead at the home of the shooter. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.