Official: 27 dead in Connecticut school shooting

A gunman opened fire inside a Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked Friday, killing at least 26 people, including 18 children, by blasting his way through the building as young students cowered helplessly in classrooms while their teachers and classmates were shot.

The attack, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, appeared to be the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.

The death toll — 26 victims plus the gunman — was given to The Associated Press by an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.

Panicked parents raced to Sandy Hook Elementary School, about 60 miles northeast of New York City, looking for their children in the wake of the shooting. Students were told to close their eyes by police as they were led from the building. Read more

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As reported in the Belfast Telegraph the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is one of the worst gun massacres in US history--20 children and 6 teachers dead. We live in a violent world and children are the frequent victims of that violence. In many cases their deaths go unreported in the media. Your prayers are not only asked for the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the wounded, and the survivors, but also for all children throughout the world.