NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT: Twenty children were among 29 killed in a shooting incident in this otherwise quiet town of the United States, reportedly by the son of a teachers teaching in the same school.
The shooter, identified as 2o year old Adam Lanza, allegedly shot dead his mother before shooting 20 children and 9 others. While 18 children died on the spot, 2 died on the way to the hospital.
The gunman who was reportedly wearing a bullet-proof vest was shot dead by the police. His younger brother Ryan Lanza has been detained by the police for questioning.
Agencies quoted, an anonymous official, said the gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown was killed and apparently heavily armed. All the children killed were in the age between 5 and 10 years.
The incident has shocked and shaken the world. The US President in a highly emotional message said, “our hearts are broken today...evil visited this community today”.
According to the New York Times, the gunman walked into the classroom shot dead his mother and then 20 students most of them from the same classroom and later shot six others.
This mass shooting incident, one of the worst in the US history, has once again sparked off the debate about the liberal gun laws in the country. Only this year three other worst mass shooting incidents were reported in Oregon shopping mall, Wisconsin temple and Aurora theatre.
President Obama said he grieved about the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school as a father first, declaring "our hearts are broken today”. Here is the full transcript of Obama’s speech:
“This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller. I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families.
“We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would -- as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.
“The majority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfil their dreams.
“So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. 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.
“As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it's an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago -- these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.
“This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and we'll tell them that we love them, and we'll remind each other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight. And they need all of us right now. In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans. And I will do everything in my power as President to help.
“Because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need -- to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories but also in ours.
“May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the broken-hearted and bind up their wounds."
