US authorities say it’s clear that the gunman who claimed 26 lives including kids and teachers in a firing spree at an elementary school in Connecticut state Friday, was on a mission to kill as many people as possible, the CBS channel reported.
In one of the deadliest shooting incidents in the United States, the 20-year-old assailant identified as Adam Lanza, took at least three guns and multiple clips of ammunition to target a defenseless elementary school and children as young as five.
Another report, quoting police, said Lanza first apparently killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at the home they shared in Newtown. Then he drove in her car to Sandy Hook Elementary, the school at which Nancy Lanza taught kindergarten. The horrific tragedy shook the Newtown community.
Citing police, the CBS said Adam Lanza, who was later found dead, was armed for a mass murder when he attacked a target he knew very well.
He was carrying two lethal semi-automatic handguns: a Sig Sauer, the type of gun carried by Secret Service agents, and a Glock 9mm, a model used by many police officers and federal agents across the United States.
Officials say Lanza headed directly for a specific section of the school and opened fire, killing students in two classrooms. It is not known how many rounds he fired, but both guns are capable of carrying high-capacity extended clips, which can hold up to 30 rounds.
A tearful President Barack Obama told Americans “our hearts are broken today.”
Wiping his eyes, he said, “Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain.”
Obama noted, sadly gun massacres occur all too often.
“And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics,” Obama said.
President Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff at federal installations and House Speaker John Boehner ordered flags over the U.S. Capitol to be lowered to half-staff because of the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman has expressed a sense of shock over the tragedy.
Lanza died of a self-inflicted gunshot inside the school. But investigators suspect he may have intended to carry out a broader attack.
Lanza’s older brother, Ryan, is still being questioned by police who want to know what he might have known about the attack.
The CBS said investigators believe that this shooting was the result of a conflict between he and his mother that was developing for a long time — killing her and then killing what she loved most — her students.