By Pete Williams, Miguel Llanos and Tracy Connor, NBC News
A kindergarten teacher's son, clad in black and carrying two 9mm pistols, rampaged through a Connecticut elementary school Friday, killing 20 small children and six adults, a tragedy President Barack Obama said had broken the hearts of America.
The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead at the scene of the slaughter, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, law enforcement officials said. The body of a woman believed to be his mother was found at their home in Newton, authorities said.
Officials initially misidentified the shooter to NBC News as Lanza's brother, Ryan. But a senior official later said that Ryan was nowhere near the shooting, is not believed to be involved, and is cooperating with the investigation.
Ryan told police that Adam has a history of mental illness, according to the senior official. Yet the motive for the mass killing – the nation’s second-worst school shooting -- was a mystery.
The weapons used in the attack were legally purchased and were registered to the gunman's mother, two law enforcement officials said. Two 9mm handguns were recovered inside the school. An AR-15-type rifle also was found at the scene, but there conflicting reports Friday night whether it had been used in the shooting.
Police believe Lanza fatally shot her in the face, then drove to the hilltop school where she worked and unleashed a blizzard of bullets on children and staff in two rooms before apparently taking his own life.
"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Friday evening. "We are all in this together."
Adam Lanza, the man who allegedly committed one of the worst shootings in U.S. history, was 20 years old. He entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School carrying two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, police said. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Some young survivors -- ages 5 to 10 -- described the terror of the shooting and a massive police response that included SWAT officers going room to room to search for victims as students huddled in classroom corners.A kindergarten teacher's son, clad in black and carrying two 9mm pistols, rampaged through a Connecticut elementary school Friday, killing 20 small children and six adults, a tragedy President Barack Obama said had broken the hearts of America.
The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead at the scene of the slaughter, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, law enforcement officials said. The body of a woman believed to be his mother was found at their home in Newton, authorities said.
Officials initially misidentified the shooter to NBC News as Lanza's brother, Ryan. But a senior official later said that Ryan was nowhere near the shooting, is not believed to be involved, and is cooperating with the investigation.
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Ryan told police that Adam has a history of mental illness, according to the senior official. Yet the motive for the mass killing – the nation’s second-worst school shooting -- was a mystery.
The weapons used in the attack were legally purchased and were registered to the gunman's mother, two law enforcement officials said. Two 9mm handguns were recovered inside the school. An AR-15-type rifle also was found at the scene, but there conflicting reports Friday night whether it had been used in the shooting.
Police believe Lanza fatally shot her in the face, then drove to the hilltop school where she worked and unleashed a blizzard of bullets on children and staff in two rooms before apparently taking his own life.
"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Friday evening. "We are all in this together."
Adam Lanza, the man who allegedly committed one of the worst shootings in U.S. history, was 20 years old. He entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School carrying two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, police said. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Some young survivors -- ages 5 to 10 -- described the terror of the shooting and a massive police response that included SWAT officers going room to room to search for victims as students huddled in classroom corners.
A kindergarten teacher's son, clad in black and carrying two 9mm pistols, rampaged through a Connecticut elementary school Friday, killing 20 small children and six adults, a tragedy President Barack Obama said had broken the hearts of America.
The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead at the scene of the slaughter, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, law enforcement officials said. The body of a woman believed to be his mother was found at their home in Newton, authorities said.
Officials initially misidentified the shooter to NBC News as Lanza's brother, Ryan. But a senior official later said that Ryan was nowhere near the shooting, is not believed to be involved, and is cooperating with the investigation.
Ryan told police that Adam has a history of mental illness, according to the senior official. Yet the motive for the mass killing – the nation’s second-worst school shooting -- was a mystery.
The weapons used in the attack were legally purchased and were registered to the gunman's mother, two law enforcement officials said. Two 9mm handguns were recovered inside the school. An AR-15-type rifle also was found at the scene, but there conflicting reports Friday night whether it had been used in the shooting.
Police believe Lanza fatally shot her in the face, then drove to the hilltop school where she worked and unleashed a blizzard of bullets on children and staff in two rooms before apparently taking his own life.
"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Friday evening. "We are all in this together."
Adam Lanza, the man who allegedly committed one of the worst shootings in U.S. history, was 20 years old. He entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School carrying two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, police said. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Some young survivors -- ages 5 to 10 -- described the terror of the shooting and a massive police response that included SWAT officers going room to room to search for victims as students huddled in classroom corners.A kindergarten teacher's son, clad in black and carrying two 9mm pistols, rampaged through a Connecticut elementary school Friday, killing 20 small children and six adults, a tragedy President Barack Obama said had broken the hearts of America.
The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead at the scene of the slaughter, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, law enforcement officials said. The body of a woman believed to be his mother was found at their home in Newton, authorities said.
Officials initially misidentified the shooter to NBC News as Lanza's brother, Ryan. But a senior official later said that Ryan was nowhere near the shooting, is not believed to be involved, and is cooperating with the investigation.
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Ryan told police that Adam has a history of mental illness, according to the senior official. Yet the motive for the mass killing – the nation’s second-worst school shooting -- was a mystery.
The weapons used in the attack were legally purchased and were registered to the gunman's mother, two law enforcement officials said. Two 9mm handguns were recovered inside the school. An AR-15-type rifle also was found at the scene, but there conflicting reports Friday night whether it had been used in the shooting.
Police believe Lanza fatally shot her in the face, then drove to the hilltop school where she worked and unleashed a blizzard of bullets on children and staff in two rooms before apparently taking his own life.
"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Friday evening. "We are all in this together."
Adam Lanza, the man who allegedly committed one of the worst shootings in U.S. history, was 20 years old. He entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School carrying two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, police said. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Some young survivors -- ages 5 to 10 -- described the terror of the shooting and a massive police response that included SWAT officers going room to room to search for victims as students huddled in classroom corners.