Horrific Shooting at Elementary School Shocks the Nation: 
Updated
Parents of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and all Americans are trying to make sense of a shooting this morning that left at least 27 people dead, including 18 children, as of last reports. The school's principal and psychologist are also among the dead. At 9:40 a.m. this morning, police were alerted that a shooter was in the school. The reported gunman, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, is dead. It is also reported that the shooter's younger brother is in custody, as details of what exactly happened are still being learned. The news that is coming out of Connecticut is horrific; it's believed that the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, was a teacher at the school, and that he entered her classroom wearing a mask and bulletproof vest before he open fired. The shooter's mother is presumed dead, and Ryan Lanza's girlfriend and another friend are also missing, according to the New York Times.
A student told NBC: "I was in the gym and I heard like seven loud booms and the gym teachers told us to go in the corner and we huddled. We all heard these booming noises and we started crying. So the gym teachers told us to go into the office where no one could find us. Then a police officer told us to run outside." While we don't know everything yet, it's clear that this will be among the worst mass shootings in US history.
As for whether this should start a gun control discussion, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said this morning: "There is, I am sure - will be, rather - a day for discussion of the usual Washington policy debates, but I do not think today is that day." But in his tearful remarks today, President Obama said there needs to be a meaningful change regardless of politics. He said, "We've endured too many of these tragedies these last few years."
Updated
Parents of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and all Americans are trying to make sense of a shooting this morning that left at least 27 people dead, including 18 children, as of last reports. The school's principal and psychologist are also among the dead. At 9:40 a.m. this morning, police were alerted that a shooter was in the school. The reported gunman, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, is dead. It is also reported that the shooter's younger brother is in custody, as details of what exactly happened are still being learned. The news that is coming out of Connecticut is horrific; it's believed that the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, was a teacher at the school, and that he entered her classroom wearing a mask and bulletproof vest before he open fired. The shooter's mother is presumed dead, and Ryan Lanza's girlfriend and another friend are also missing, according to the New York Times.
A student told NBC: "I was in the gym and I heard like seven loud booms and the gym teachers told us to go in the corner and we huddled. We all heard these booming noises and we started crying. So the gym teachers told us to go into the office where no one could find us. Then a police officer told us to run outside." While we don't know everything yet, it's clear that this will be among the worst mass shootings in US history.
As for whether this should start a gun control discussion, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said this morning: "There is, I am sure - will be, rather - a day for discussion of the usual Washington policy debates, but I do not think today is that day." But in his tearful remarks today, President Obama said there needs to be a meaningful change regardless of politics. He said, "We've endured too many of these tragedies these last few years."
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