An official with knowledge of a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school says 27 people are dead, including 18 children.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.

Another official, speaking on condition of anonymity for the same reason, says the gunman is among the dead.

A dispatcher at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps said a teacher had been shot in the foot and taken to Danbury Hospital. Andrea Rynn, a spokeswoman at the hospital, said it had three patients from the school but she did not have information on the extent or nature of their injuries.

Brenda Lebinski, whose 8-year-old daughter attends the school, was among the parents who raced to check on their children.

"I saw her and it was the happiest moment of my life," she said.

Stephen Delgiadice said his 8-year-old daughter heard two big bangs and teachers told her to get in a corner. His daughter was not harmed.

"It's alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America," he said.

Lisa Terifay, who was holding her two children outside the school, said she was stunned.

"I still can't believe it's happened in my town," she said.

The superintendent's office said the district had locked down schools in Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City. Schools in neighboring towns also were locked down as a precaution.

State police said Newtown police called them around 9:40 a.m. A SWAT team was among the throngs of police to respond.

Photos from the scene showed young students — some crying, others looking visibly frightened — being escorted by adults through a parking lot in a line, hands on each other's shoulders.

Connecticut's governor was on the scene in Newtown. The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting and was receiving updates.

"If only ONE teacher had been carrying her Lady Smith & Wesson."

Guns do not kill, people do.
CNN reporting shooter is named Ryan Lanza..
National media has identified the Newtown, Conn. school shooter as Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, but a Ryan Lanza who lives in Hoboken has posted on Facebook that he isn't the shooter.
3:20 p.m. UPDATE: The Ryan Lanza Facebook page has apparently been deleted.

***

The Facebook page of the Hoboken man who has been identified in the national press as the shooter in the Newtown, Conn. school shootings has recent messages saying "It wasn't me."

Meanwhile, former Jersey Journal staff writer Brett Wilshe said he has spoken with Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, who told Wilshe the shooter may have had his identification.

Lanza, who on Facebook is listed as living in Hoboken and originally from Newtown, Conn.

The page has recent updates to read that “it wasn’t me” and “I was at work.”

The Associated Press is reporting 27 dead, including 18 children, as a result of this morning's shooting.

There is a heavy police presence at 13th and Grand streets, which is listed as Lanza's address.

We MUST train teachers like sky marshals, in concealed carry and use. These are the times we live in. Making schools a ´gun free zone´ is fatally delusional. 27 unfortunate souls paid the price today of this pig headed stupidity.

Newtown School Shootings:
Celebrities demand gun control

Reuters, by Alexander C. Kaufman & Greg Gilman

Original Article

The Connecticut school shooting that killed 27 -- including up to 20 children -- horrified Hollywood along with the rest of the nation, prompting one of the most pro-gun control segments of the country to again demand better restrictions and more mental health services. The shooting at a Newtown grade school came just months afer July´s deadly "Dark Knight Rises" shooting in a theater in Aurora, Colo. Filmmakers and actors used their celebrity to plead for change on Twitter. "Too soon to speak out about a gun-crazy nation? No, too late," tweeted "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore.