Dozens Killed in Connecticut School Shooting

By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY and DEVLIN BARRETT

At least 25 people, including 18 children, were shot and killed at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, law-enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter said.

A single shooter, identified only as a 20-year-old man by a law-enforcement official, began shooting inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., at about 9:40 a.m.

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the Connecticut State Police, confirmed the shooter was dead inside the school building but declined to provide details on casualties, saying the priority was to first inform family members. A law-enforcement official said the suspect had a personal connection to the school, but wouldn't specify what it was.

Lt. Vance said the scene has been secured and that multiple law-enforcement agencies were engaged in "search warrant activity." At a news conference Friday afternoon, he said investigators were looking "both in and out of state" for information on the gunman but assured the public that they aren't at risk.

A law-enforcement official briefed on the matter said the shooter used at least one weapon: a high-powered .223-caliber assault rifle.

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Connecticut State Police led children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after a shooting there Friday.

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Officials at Danbury Hospital said they received three patients from the school but declined to describe their conditions.

"We don't anticipate any more patients at this time," Patrick Broderick, the chairman of the hospital's emergency department, said at a news conference three hours after the incident. He said the hospital was placed on a "lockdown" status out of an "abundance of caution."

The superintendent's office said the district had locked down schools in Newtown, a town of about 28,0000 located about 65 miles northeast of New York City. Schools in neighboring towns also were locked down as a precaution. Sandy Hook Elementary School has 575 students in kindergarten through 4th grade, according to federal data.

An 8-year-old student who was inside the school when the shooting erupted told NBC 4 in New York he was in a hallway and was pulled into a classroom by a teacher.

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A young boy was comforted outside Sandy Hook Elementary School after a shooting Friday.

"Everybody heard the bullets—they, like, went into a full panic," the student said haltingly, as his mother stood beside him.

President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting around 10:30 a.m. by his counterterrorism and homeland security adviser, John Brennan, White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

"The president is receiving regular updates as more information becomes available about this incident," Mr. Carney said.

Mr. Carney said he couldn't confirm any details about the shooting, but the White House will provide more information as officials receive it. He said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is supporting state law enforcement in the investigation.

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Mr. Carney called the shooting "a very tragic event" and said the president feels "enormous sympathy" for victims' families.

Mr. Obama spoke on the phone with FBI Director Robert Mueller and Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy to receive an update on the situation and express his condolences, Mr. Carney said. Mr. Malloy was on the scene.

Leigh Libero's daughter, Joey, would have been in a second-grade classroom Friday morning, but she had a dentist appointment.

As Ms. Libero pulled up to the school, she saw just-erected barricades and received an urgent text message from her sister, who works at a television news station in Hartford.

Children were led out the school's driveway, directly to a firehouse, where parents streamed in "en masse" to locate their children, Ms. Libero said. The scene was chaotic as initial reports of a shooting at the school grew steadily worse.

"This is the perfect New England town," Ms. Libero said. "You wouldn't think of this."

Ms. Libero said parents were trying to determine how the gunman entered the school. The school uses a double-secured door during the day, she said. Visitors approaching the school must press a button to be buzzed in through the outer set of school doors to enter the building.

A letter sent to Sandy Hook parents earlier this year described a new security protocol put in place at the school. The protocol requires identification for most visitors who must ring a doorbell to gain entry to the school's front entrance, which is locked after 9:30 a.m. "If our office staff does not recognize you, you will be required to show identification with a picture ID," the letter said.

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 wasn't harmed. "It's alarming, especially in Newtown, Conn., which we always thought was the safest place in America," he said.

—Carol E. Lee, Jared A. Favole, Tedd Mann, Jacob Gershman and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

Write to Tamer El-Ghobashy at tamer.el-ghobashy@wsj.com and Devlin Barrett atdevlin.barrett@wsj.com