Tearful Obama leads US to mourn 28 school massacre killings

Washington/New York: US President Barack Obama wiped tears and spoke of his grief as the authorities scrambled to piece together the mayhem at a Connecticut elementary school where a heavily armed young man gunned down 28 people, including 20 children.

"I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same grief that I do," Obama, the father of two daughters aged 11 and 14, said as he stood at the podium in the White House press room, visibly struggling to keep his emotion in check.

"The overwhelming majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little children between five and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them. Birthdays. Graduations. Weddings. Kids of their own," he said.

Obama paused repeatedly as he spoke and the muscles near his right eye twitched as he worked to maintain his composure.

"Our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers, of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost," Obama said.

Over 100 people have died in campus shootings across the US in the last two decades largely because of lax gun laws. The gun lobby is a powerful one in the US and no party is ready to take them on and repeal laws in which gun ownership is seen as a kind of fundamental right.

The children who were killed in Friday's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, over 100 km north of New York City, were said to be from 5 to 10 years old. Among the seven adults killed were Dawn Hochsprung, the school's principal, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach.

The shooter, identified by three law enforcement officials as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, also was killed, apparently by his own hand, CNN reported.

A 28th person was found dead in a house in the town and was also believed to have been shot by Lanza. That victim, according to a law enforcement official cited by the New York Times, was Lanza's mother, Nancy Lanza, a teacher at the school.

As the killer went on a rampage, there were tales of heroism.

Maryrose Kristopik, a music teacher, saved 20 children from being shot dead. She said prayers and told them: "I love you".

Kristopik barricaded herself in to the closet with the nine and 10-year-olds while Adam Lanza battered on the door and screamed: "Let me in! Let me in!"

She told MailOnline that only when the shots which had been ringing out had died down did she lead them all outside to safety.

On Friday as a stunned America saw the unfolding tragedy in Connecticut, a student was arrested in the US state of Oklahoma for threatening to shoot inside a school.

Police arrested Sammy Chavez, 18, in west Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on an arrest warrant for threats to kill, reported Xinhua citing TV channel FOX23.

Police said officials from Bartlesville High School reported that a student talked about "planning a shooting at the school" Thursday morning.

According to court documents, the suspect tried to recruit other students to assist him in a plot to lure other students into the school auditorium, shut the doors and shoot them. Student witnesses also reported that the teenager claimed he would place bombs by the school doors.

With the toll at 28, the Newtown shooting is the second-deadliest school shooting in US history, behind only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people, including two Indians dead, and 17 others injured.

Authorities in Hoboken, New Jersey, questioned Ryan Lanza, the suspect's older brother, CNN said citing law enforcement sources. Lanza's father, who lives in Connecticut, was similarly questioned.



The bodies of the young victims remained where they fell Friday night, as authorities worked to positively identify them.

"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy said of Friday's massacre.

Indian Americans too were shocked and heartbroken over the massacre.

North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) said: "Our hearts go out to the victims and their families...With the nation still overcoming the grief of the Wisconsin shootings, this incident has added to the pain."

Six Sikh worshippers were killed and three injured when a gunman opened fire at the Wisconsin gurdwara Aug 5. The gunman then shot himself in the head.

We are offering prayers for the victims of the shooting, said NAPA spokesperson Satnam Singh Chahal.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon too voiced his "deepest condolences" over the victims of the school shooting.

In a letter to Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy, Ban called the Sandy Hook Elementary School rampage "shocking murders", spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.