Shattered families and grieving residents struggled Saturday to grasp the news that most of the 27 people shot dead by a US school gunman were six- and seven-year-old children.
President Barack Obama was due to join the vigils in the small Connecticut community of Newtown on Sunday, to lead national mourning after this latest massacre that has revived calls for a debate on gun control.
But the political ramifications of the tragedy were far from the minds of most in this picturesque dormitory town, where parents of the survivors and the dead alike were struggling to come to terms with the stunning loss.
Robbie Parker, a 30-year-old hospital physician's assistant who cares for sick newborns, said the death of his loving six-year-old Emilie should "inspire us to be better, more compassionate and caring toward other people."
And he included the family of the apparent shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, in his condolences, addressing them through the news media to say: "I can't imagine how hard this experience must be for you."
Robert and Diane Licata described how their six-year-old son Aiden ran past the shooter in his classroom doorway to escape after seeing his teacher gunned down -- and recounted their desperate search for him.
Diane told CNN that she had rushed to the school and seen her daughter led out of the building, but there was no sign of Aiden.
"So the kids start to come out and when I saw her, you know, the sense of relief is incredible, but it's really short-lived because I still have one in there. And I'm waiting for him to come. And he didn't come out," she said.
"And I didn't see his teacher and I didn't see his classmates," Diane added. "I hugged my daughter and I said, you know -- I told her to hug her friend who was in her class and I said go to the fire station, Daddy is coming.
"And I'm going to wait for Aiden. I'm going to wait. And he didn't come out. So you know, when you're standing there waiting, and no-one will tell you anything. It's an indescribable feeling of helplessness."
Licata eventually received a text that her son was safe at a nearby police station, and he was later able to explain his escape.
"They heard noises that he described as initially they thought were hammers falling. Then they realized that it was gunshots," she said.
"And... Aiden's teacher, had the presence of mind to move all of the children to a distance away from the door on the side of the room furthest away from the door and that's when the gunman burst in, did not say a word.
"No facial expressions. And proceeded to shoot their teacher."
Following drills that many US children are taught as to how to react in the presence of a gunman, Aiden and his classmates rushed to the door where he was standing and ran past him. Some of them survived.
"He really, really, really cared about his teacher. He was very close with her and she really loved that class. He keeps saying, I really hope she's okay, I hope it's not her," said Diane.
"He knows that she's been hurt but he doesn't know the end result. He knows the kids that he saw getting shot. He doesn't know the outcome."
A police spokesman said Lanza is believed to have shot his mother at the home they shared before heading to the nearby school and launching his attack.
He had two handguns, but the coroner told reporters that most of the children and staff were killed by multiple gunshots from his assault rifle, a military-style .223 caliber Bushmaster, similar to the US Army's M4.
Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver said such a rifle fires rounds that are "designed in such a fashion that the energy is deposited in the tissue, so the bullet stays in."
Connecticut State Police, meanwhile, released the ages of the victims, who included 16 six-year-olds and four seven-year-olds.
Twelve of the 20 slain children were girls and eight were boys.
The six adults killed were all women, including the school principal and the school psychologist, who at 56 was the eldest victim.
The motives of the shooter were the biggest mystery. Carver said he would conduct a post-mortem on Lanza and on his mother later Saturday.
Connecticut State Police spokesman Lieutenant J. Paul Vance said detectives had begun to "peel back the onion."
Asked whether any suicide note, emails or other clues to the killer's mind had been found, he said the crime scene "did produce some very -- very good evidence in our investigation."
Vance said the crime scene investigation could go on for 24 to 48 hours.
Bodies were removed from the school overnight and relatives were privately given formal identification of the dead.
Although he was remembered as a shy, awkward and nerdy boy, Lanza had not apparently given any warning sign that he was a mass murderer.
The weapons, news reports said, were registered in his mother's name, but she was widely seen as an unremarkable and upstanding resident in the town.
The tragedy drew messages of support from around the world, and candlelight vigils have sprung up in the area.
Of all US campus shootings, the toll was second only to the 32 murders in the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech university.
The latest number far exceeded the 15 killed in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which triggered a fierce but inconclusive debate about relaxed gun control laws in the United States.
However, the White House has scotched any suggestion that the politically explosive subject would be quickly reopened.
AFP
Sun Dec 16 2012
![Ekonomi China teruskan momentum pemulihan Ekonomi China teruskan momentum pemulihan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-01/71674060668_ChinaPopulation.jpg)
Ekonomi China teruskan momentum pemulihan
Ekonomi China meneruskan momentum pemulihan dan trend perkembangan ke arah baik dengan operasinya kekal stabil secara keseluruhannya pada separuh pertama tahun ini.
![PPZ-MAIWP catat RM511 juta kutipan zakat tahun ini, naik 10 peratus PPZ-MAIWP catat RM511 juta kutipan zakat tahun ini, naik 10 peratus](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/61714481430_TBNAIM.jpg)
PPZ-MAIWP catat RM511 juta kutipan zakat tahun ini, naik 10 peratus
PPZ-MAIWP mencatat kutipan zakat sebanyak RM511 juta dari Januari hingga Jun tahun ini dengan peningkatan sebanyak 10 peratus berbanding tempoh sama pada 2023.
![Empat terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh Empat terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721144143_TBBANGLADESHCAMPUS.jpg)
Empat terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Abu Sayeed, seorang daripada penyelaras dan pelajar di Universiti Begum Rokeya di Rangpur utara, terbunuh semasa pertempuran dengan polis.
![28 orang termasuk 5 orang awam, 10 askar, terbunuh dalam tempoh 24 jam di Pakistan 28 orang termasuk 5 orang awam, 10 askar, terbunuh dalam tempoh 24 jam di Pakistan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721144906_TBMAPBANNU.jpg)
28 orang termasuk 5 orang awam, 10 askar, terbunuh dalam tempoh 24 jam di Pakistan
Tentera menuding jari kepada kumpulan Hafiz Gul Bahadur dari Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) yang diharamkan.
![Misi ekonomi produk agrikomoditi ke India perkukuh hubungan dua hala Misi ekonomi produk agrikomoditi ke India perkukuh hubungan dua hala](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721130378_JohariAbdulGhani.jpg)
Misi ekonomi produk agrikomoditi ke India perkukuh hubungan dua hala
KPK akan mengadakan Misi Ekonomi Produk Agrikomoditi Malaysia ke India pada 17-18 Julai ini.
![Golongan belia pemacu penting bentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia - FMM Golongan belia pemacu penting bentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia - FMM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/41715247870_SohThianLaijpg.jpg)
Golongan belia pemacu penting bentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia - FMM
Pemimpin perniagaan dan usahawan daripada golongan belia merupakan pemacu penting yang akan membentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia, kata Presiden Persekutuan Pekilang-Pekilang Malaysia.
AWANI Tonight: 16 July 2024
#AWANITonight with @Hafiz_Marzukhi
1. Govt mulls amending Penal Code to deal with cyberbullying
2. England's Southgate resigns after Euro 2024 Final defeat
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
1. Govt mulls amending Penal Code to deal with cyberbullying
2. England's Southgate resigns after Euro 2024 Final defeat
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
![9,241 pelajar Palestin terbunuh dalam serangan Israel sejak 7 Oktober 9,241 pelajar Palestin terbunuh dalam serangan Israel sejak 7 Oktober](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/81718630490_Smokerises.jpg)
9,241 pelajar Palestin terbunuh dalam serangan Israel sejak 7 Oktober
9,318 pelajar terbunuh dan 14,671 lagi cedera di Semenanjung Gaza manakala di Tebing Barat, 103 pelajar terbunuh dan 505 lagi cedera.
![Penumpang Singapore Airlines meningkat hampir 14 peratus pada Jun Penumpang Singapore Airlines meningkat hampir 14 peratus pada Jun](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721142800_AirbusA.jpg)
Penumpang Singapore Airlines meningkat hampir 14 peratus pada Jun
Rangkaian penumpang Kumpulan SIA meliputi 125 destinasi setakat Jun dan rangkaian kargo terdiri daripada 129 destinasi.
![Empat individu termasuk pasangan pempengaruh bebas tahanan reman Empat individu termasuk pasangan pempengaruh bebas tahanan reman](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/41716613114_TBsprm.jpg)
Empat individu termasuk pasangan pempengaruh bebas tahanan reman
Kesemua individu juga perlu hadir ke pejabat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) sebulan sekali untuk melaporkan diri.
![Siasatan NTSB di lokasi kejadian dua komuter terlanggar Siasatan NTSB di lokasi kejadian dua komuter terlanggar](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-05/61368919113_295x200.jpg)
Siasatan NTSB di lokasi kejadian dua komuter terlanggar
Susulan insiden kejadian dua komuter berlanggar di Connecticut Amerika Syarikat.
![Ribut salji ragut 15 nyawa di Connecticut Ribut salji ragut 15 nyawa di Connecticut](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-02/71360571416_295x200.jpg)
Ribut salji ragut 15 nyawa di Connecticut
Orang ramai mula membersihkan timbunan salji susulan ribut salji yang melanda kawasan Connecticut yang meragut 15 nyawa.
Obama mahu kawal penggunaan senjata
Presiden Barack Obama berikrar untuk melakukan apa yang terdaya bagi mengawal penggunaan senjata dan mengelak keganasan.
![Obama sokong usaha larangan pemilikan senjata Obama sokong usaha larangan pemilikan senjata](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-11/41352276963_295x200.jpg)
Obama sokong usaha larangan pemilikan senjata
Susulan insiden tembakan rambang di Newtown, Connecticut, Amerika Syarikat, Presiden Barack Obama menyokong penuh usaha Demokrat untuk menguatkuasa semula larangan pemilikan senjata.
![Bapa penyerang sekolah Connecticut mohon maaf Bapa penyerang sekolah Connecticut mohon maaf](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-12/51355535508_120x90.jpg)
Bapa penyerang sekolah Connecticut mohon maaf
Peter Lanza mengakui beliau dan keluarganya masih tertanya-tanya mengapa anaknya Adam melakukan serangan di sekolah Connecticut.
Siasatan diteruskan dalam insiden sekolah AS
Jurucakap polis berkata semua detektif ditugaskan mencari bukti dan maklumat lengkap berhubung insiden itu terutama mengenai penyerang Adam Lanza yang berusia 20 tahun.
![27 sah mati, Ryan Lanza bukan penyerang 27 sah mati, Ryan Lanza bukan penyerang](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-12/71355542790_120x90.jpg)
27 sah mati, Ryan Lanza bukan penyerang
Polis mengesahkan 27 maut dalam serangan sekolah di Connecticut dan penyerang adalan Adam Lanza dan bukan abangnya Ryan.
26 terbunuh dalam insiden tembak di sekolah AS
Sekolah Sandy Hook di Connecticut diserang, penyerang membunuh 26 orang termasuk 20 pelajar sebulum terbunuh dalam insiden terbaru di AS.
![Keputusan : Obama 256, Romney 191 (270 untuk menang) Keputusan : Obama 256, Romney 191 (270 untuk menang)](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-11/71352254271_120x90.jpg)
Keputusan : Obama 256, Romney 191 (270 untuk menang)
Dalam keputusan awal Pilihan Raya Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Presiden Barack Obama dilaporkan menang di Connecticut dengan memungut tujuh undi elektoral.