20 kids, 6 adults killed by gunman at US school

Twenty children and six adults have been killed in a shooting spree at an elementary school in the town of Newtown in the US state of Connecticut.

According to CBS News, 27 people — 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School students, 6 adult victims, and the shooter, who killed himself — were killed and one person was injured in the Friday incident.

Media outlets report that the school’s principal and psychologist are also among the dead.

The gunman was reported dead on the spot and there are preliminary reports that he was the father of one of the students. It is not known whether the shooter took his own life or was killed by police.

Two students and a teacher were also injured in the shooting and were taken to the nearby Dansbury Hospital.

The hospital said on its website that it was aware of a “situation” at the school and that they are “collecting facts” about the incident.

The students have been evacuated and the school has cancelled its kindergarten class on Friday and will not operate midday bus runs.

An official with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that the gunman apparently has had two guns which have been recovered.

Police responded to the school shooting at 9:41 a.m. local time. The Connecticut State Police told CBS Connecticut that it is “still an active situation.”

The school superintendent’s office says the district has locked down schools for safety measures. Schools in neighboring towns were also locked down as a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, the US President Barack Obama has expressed his condolences to families of the victims and survivors of the incident.

Sandy Hook Elementary School has more than 600 students in classes from Kindergarten to 4th Grade – including students aged from five to 10.

Newtown is in northern Fairfield County, about 45 miles southwest of Hartford and 80 miles northeast of the New York City.