A mass shooting today at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, CT claimed the lives of 20 young children and 6 adults before the gunman took his own life. The shooter was identified as Adam Lanza, who lived in the same town.

The 20 year-old shooter used a .223 Bushmaster AR-type modern sporting rifle in the attack. He also carried two pistols, a Glock in 10mm Auto and a 9x19mm SIG Sauer, but these were not used except when Lanza committed suicide after the murders. A fourth firearm, a shotgun, was found in the shooter's car. Lanza was reported to have been wearing body armor and a mask, eerily similar to the Aurora movie theater shooting earlier this year.

Among the victims are the principal of the school, Dawn Hochsprung, and a school psychologist. Authorities also discovered the body of the shooter's mother at her son's residence in Newtown.

Reports state that the shooter first entered the school at approximately 9:40 AM, a half hour after the start of classes. The shooting was concentrated to just two classrooms of the school, which enrolls 626 students between kindergarten and fourth grade, and has 46 faculty members. Students in other areas of the school were quietly evacuated to a nearby fire station.