NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — Funerals for three of the Connecticut school shooting victims are being planned for Monday and Tuesday.
Services for 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto are being planned for Monday. The funeral for 6-year-old Jessica Rekos is Tuesday.
The Connecticut Funeral Directors Association says Pozner's funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Abraham L. Green and Son Funeral Home in Fairfield, Conn.
The funeral for Pinto is set for 1 p.m. at Honan Funeral Home in Newtown.
The funeral for Rekos is Tuesday at noon at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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(NEWTOWN, Conn.) -- Members of the shattered community of Newtown, Conn., struggling to come to grips with the loss of 20 children and six adults massacred by Adam Lanza, faced a new shock Sunday when a threat was made against a church that many of the victims and their families attend.
The St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church was evacuated during a noon service as armed police officers swarmed around the area, after a church official became aware of a credible threat and alerted parishioners mid-service to exit the building.
About 1,000 people were gathered inside the church at the time observing one of four memorial services being held there.
Witnesses said police entered the church and told parishioners that a threat had been made against the church and the surrounding area and that everyone had to leave immediately.
More than a dozen state troopers armed with assault rifles entered the church's education center next to the church, but after a short time it was determined that threat was over.
Brian Wallace, director of communications for the Diocese of Bridgeport, said that after the massacre on Friday, he felt evacuation was a vital precaution to take.
"I don't think any of us could be surprised about anything after what has happened," Wallace said.
Meanwhile, police are working to understand what set Lanza off on his rampage.
Copyright © 2012 ABC News Radio
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(NEWTOWN, Conn.) -- As the shattered community of Newtown, Conn., struggles to come to grips with the loss of 20 children and six adults massacred by Adam Lanza, police are working to understand what set the 20-year-old off on his rampage.
ABC News has learned that investigators have seized computers belonging to Lanza from the home he shared with his mother Nancy, the same place he killed her before going to the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he slaughtered students in two first-grade classes and teachers and staff.
Authorities are forensically investigating those computers and are also examining devices owned by Ryan Lanza, the gunman's older brother, to see if they can learn anything more about Adam and what caused him to snap.
Members of the community gathered Sunday at churches across the small town, seeking comfort, clarity or just a cry.
With intermittent freezing rain falling, the bells tolled at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church as parishioners came for the morning service.
Little more than a week before Christmas when congregants celebrate the birth of their savior, they instead were mourning the deaths of people they knew.
Many of the victims attended the church and the clergy is preparing for the funerals of eight of the children.
As parishioners arrived at the church, many stopped at a makeshift memorial with flowers, teddy bears and candles. On large white boards, people wrote notes that express condolences, hope, and even forgiveness.
One says "Rest in Peace Sweet Angels."
After a man and woman knelt down at the memorial -- the woman overcome by grief crying into her husband's arms -- two police officers opened their cars with a delivery: bouquets of flowers and teddy bears stacked in the back of their vehicles. They delicately placed each one down and then both knelt down at the vigil.
The female officer began crying and her male partner put his arm around her to comfort her. She quickly got up, walking to her car while wiping away tears, and then they pulled away.
A mother and two young daughters came next. She gripped one while she also wiped away tears. A father and his young daughter also came up, the father kneeling and talking to the girl before they slowly walked into the church.
A state police trooper was also among those dropping flowers at the memorial comprised of candles, stuffed toys and a sign that says "Sleep in heavenly peace."
Police Tracing Guns Used in Shooting
Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said there are many pieces missing in the investigation and investigators continue to work inside Sandy Hook Elementary School to collect evidence.
Key to the investigation will also be the four firearms found at or near the crime scene, he said.
"We are tracing them historically, all the way back to when they were on the workbench being assembled," Vance said.
Authorities are wrapping up their processing of the exterior crime scene, which included vehicles parked in the school's lot at the time of the shooting, Vance said, and have begun to release the cars back to their owners.
Vance declined to say what evidence has or has not been collected.
"We can't take segments of an investigation and discuss that publicly because something taken out of context could be misinterpreted," he said, adding that in the end, the "goal is to answer every single question.
With the world watching Newtown, and many searching for answers, Vance warned of misinformation being spread on social media by people posing as law enforcement or the shooter.
"It is important to know, we have discussed with federal authorities these issues are crimes. They will be investigated. ... Prosecution will take place," Vance said at a press conference, adding that all information has been and will continue to come through him.
Copyright © 2012 ABC News Radio
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KINGSTON, N.H. (AP) - Relatives of a Connecticut woman fatally shot by her son before he killed 26 people at a school then killed himself say in a statement they share the grief of the Newtown community and the nation.
A sheriff in New Hampshire, where Nancy Lanza once lived, read the statement Saturday, saying the family is trying to understand "the tremendous loss." Rockingham County Sheriff Michael Downing said Lanza's brother James Champion, a retired police captain in Kingston, N.H., and other relatives express their "heartfelt sorrow." Another officer said, "The whole family is traumatized by this event."
Champion would not discuss what might have triggered his nephew to go on the shooting spree.
Nancy Lanza's family described her as kind and loving. She was once a stockbroker for John Hancock in Boston.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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(NEWTOWN, Conn.) -- The Conn. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Wayne Carver released the list of victims from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Saturday.
The students killed were all in the 1st grade, according to the Sandy Hook Elementary School Directory.
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel Davino, 29
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Dawn Hocksprung, 47
Madeline Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Russeau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison Wyatt, 6
Copyright © 2012 ABC News Radio
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Investigators are trying to figure out what led a bright but painfully awkward 20-year-old to slaughter 26 children and adults at a Connecticut elementary school.
A medical examiner says the victims were killed by multiple rifle shots, some of them up close. Dr. H. Wayne Carver said at a news conference Saturday he believes "everybody was hit more than once."
Friday's massacre has elicited horror and soul-searching around the world.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says the "innocent little boys and girls" were "taken from their families far too soon."
Investigators have questioned the gunman's older brother, who's not believed to have been involved in the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in prosperous Newtown, 60 miles northeast of New York City.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Authorities have released the names of the 26 people gunned down in a rampage at a Connecticut elementary school.
All six adults killed at the school were women. Of the 20 children who were shot to death, eight were boys and 12 were girls. All the children were ages 6 or 7.
Investigators are trying to learn more about 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza, who killed himself after the massacre.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - A medical examiner says all the victims of the Connecticut school shooting were killed up close by multiple rifle shots.
Dr. H. Wayne Carver said at a news conference Saturday the deaths are classified as homicides. He says he believes "everybody was hit more than once."
Friday's massacre of 26 children and adults at the elementary school has elicited horror and soul-searching around the world.
Investigators are trying to learn more about 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza. They've questioned his older brother, who's not believed to have been involved in the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in prosperous Newtown, 60 miles northeast of New York City.
Hundreds of people in the tight-knit community packed a church Friday in a vigil for the victims, including 20 children. Monsignor Robert Weiss says these were "just beautiful, beautiful children."
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut state police say investigators have found some "very good evidence" as they look for answers in yesterday's massacre at an elementary school.
But one law enforcement official says they've haven't found a note or manifesto of the sort that sometimes turns up after murderous rampages.
Police say the 20-year-old gunman committed suicide after killing his mother and 26 others, most of them children.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Authorities in Newtown, Conn. Are trying to learn everything they can about Adam Lanza in an effort to figure out what set him on a path leading to the massacre of 26 children and adults at an elementary school.
Police, so far, have shed no light on a possible motive for the nation's second-deadliest school shooting.
The 20-year-old gunman, who also killed his mother and himself, was described by some as brilliant but remote. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was not clear that Lanza had a job.
A law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation says Lanza is believed to have suffered from a personality disorder and lived with his mother in a well-to-do part of prosperous Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City. Neighbors are doctors or hold white-collar positions. Lanza's parents filed for divorce in 2008.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut State Police say a gunman who massacred 26 children and adults at an elementary school before committing suicide forced his way into the building.
Lt. Paul Vance said Saturday morning that the suspect was not voluntarily let into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton.
Authorities say 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother on Friday, drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, and shot 20 children, six adults and himself.
Vance says the medical examiner is still working on identifying the victims.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - A law enforcement official says that the Connecticut school shooter brought three guns into the elementary school where he killed 26 children and adults and that the weapons were registered to his slain mother.
The official was not authorized to discuss information with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official says a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, and a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle were found in the school after the massacre Friday.
The official says that a fourth weapon was found outside the school and that investigators have been going to shooting ranges and gun stores to see if Lanza had frequented them.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Police aren't saying what may have motivated a man to open fire inside two classrooms at a Connecticut elementary school today, but a law enforcement official who has been briefed on the investigation says the gunman was believed to suffer from a personality disorder.
Twenty-six people, including 20 children, were killed in the shooting rampage before the gunman shot and killed himself. Police say another adult was found dead at a second location.
A law enforcement official has identified the gunman as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, the son of a teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary school. The official says Lanza killed his mother at their home before driving his mother's car to the school.
Police say the killer carried two handguns into the school, while a rifle was found in the back of a car. They say the shootings took place in two classrooms, but they are not providing details on exactly how it unfolded.
Students and their parents describe teachers locking doors and ordering the children to huddle in classroom corners or hide in closets as shots echoed through the building. Authorities said the shootings took place in two nearby classrooms, but they gave no details on exactly how they unfolded.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - School children and their parents are describing the scene at a Connecticut elementary school today, as teachers locked doors and ordered the children to huddle in the corner or hide in closets.
Shots rang through the building, as a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children.
One man says his 6-year-old son was in class when the gunman burst in and shot the teacher. He says his son "grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door."
The father of one 7-year-old says the boy heard a noise that sounded like "cans falling." A teacher went out to check on the noise, came back in, locked the door, and had the kids huddle in the corner until police arrived.
A teenager who rushed to the school to check on his sister, after hearing the gunfire from his nearby home, says the 9-year-old girl had heard a scream come over the intercom at one point.
As they left the school, the children -- some crying, others looking frightened -- were told by police to close their eyes, so they wouldn't see the carnage around them.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press
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By PETE YOST
WASHINGTON (AP) - A law enforcement official says the suspect in the Connecticut school shootings is 20-year-old Adam Lanza, the son of a teacher at the school where the shootings occurred. A second law enforcement official says the boy's mother, Nancy Lanza, is presumed dead.
The first official says Adam Lanza's older brother, 24-year-old Ryan, of Hoboken, N.J., is being questioned by police. An earlier report from a law enforcement official mistakenly transposed the brothers' first names.
Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the developing criminal investigation.
The first official said Adam Lanza is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Copyright © 2012 Associated Press