Newtown victims shot multiple times
NEWTOWN, Conn., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The gunman who opened fire Friday inside a grade school in Newtown, Conn., was allegedly involved in an altercation at the school a day earlier, CNN reported.
A law enforcement source said Adam Lanza, 20, had gotten into a disagreement Thursday with four adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Three of those adults were among the six adults and 20 children killed Friday, CNN reported Saturday.
The state's chief medical examiner said all of the children were shot multiple times, all apparently with a rifle, The New York Times said.
"This is a very devastating set of injuries," Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, the chief medical examiner, was quoted as saying. If they suffered, he said, it was "not for very long."
Parents were shown photos of their children for identification purposes, he said.
The victims ranged in age from 6 to 56. The children -- 12 girls and eight boys -- were all first-graders between the ages of 6 and 7.
The children were identified as: Charlotte Bacon, 6, Daniel Barden, 7, Olivia Engel, 6, Josephine Gay, 7, Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6, Dylan Hockley, 6, Madeleine F. Hsu, 6, Catherine V. Hubbard, 6, Chase Kowalski, 7, Jesse Lewis, 6, James Mattioli, 6, Grace McDonnell, 7, Emilie Parker, 6, Jack Pinto, 6, Noah Pozner, 6, Caroline Previdi, 6, Jessica Rekos, 6, Avielle Richman, 6, Benjamin Wheeler, 6, and Allison N. Wyatt, 6.
The adults killed were: Rachel Davino, 29, Dawn Hochsprung, 47, Anne Marie Murphy, 52, Lauren Rousseau, 30, Mary Sherlach, 56, and Victoria Soto, 27.
The school's superintendent said the principal and school psychologist died as they tried to tackle the shooter.
Investigators spent Saturday poring over the school.
"The detectives will certainly analyze everything and put a complete picture together of the evidence that they did obtain, and we're hopeful -- we're hopeful -- that it will paint a complete picture as to how and why this entire unfortunate incidence occurred," CNN quoted Lt. J. Paul Vance of the State Police as saying.
Authorities say they believe Lanza shot and killed his mother Nancy Lanza at the Newtown home they shared before heading to the school, where Vance said the young shooter "forced his way" into the building Friday morning and opened fire. Lanza ended the rampage by taking his own life, police said.
Vance said investigators had spoken with the one unidentified wounded adult who survived the rampage. The woman was shot in the foot.
"She has been treated and she'll be instrumental in this investigation, as I'm sure you can understand," Vance said.
The massacre victims have been positively identified by the state medical examiner, state police said.
Vance said at a morning news briefing that detectives likely would remain at the crime scene for the next couple of days.
The victims' bodies were transported to the Office of the Chief State's Medical Examiner to be examined to determine manner and cause of death, the State Police said in release.
Lanza may have had access to at least five guns, a law enforcement official told CNN Saturday. Officials said previously three weapons were recovered from the school -- a semi-automatic .223-caliber rifle in a car in the school parking lot, and two pistols found by Lanza's body.
CNN reported a member of Lanza's family told investigators he had a form of autism.
A kindergarten teacher at Sandy Hook said Lanza's mother, Nancy Lanza, was not a teacher at the school, despite earlier reports that she was.
Former classmates described the shooter as a shy child and teenager.
Kateleen Soy told the Hartford Courant she knew Lanza as a seventh-grader at St. Rose of Lima School in Newtown and later saw him in the halls at Newtown High School. She described him as "really painfully shy."
"I wanted people to know he wasn't always a monster," Soy said. "He became one, but he wasn't always that way."
Andrew Lapple said he was on the same Little League team and also sat next to Lanza in homeroom at the high school. He called Lanza a "tech-geek" with little talent for baseball.
"He was always carrying around his laptop holding onto it real tight," Lapple said. "He walked down the halls against the wall almost like he was afraid of people. He was definitely kind of strange, but you'd never think he'd do something like this."
The Newtown shooting is believed to be the second-most deadly school shooting in U.S. history. In 2007, a student at Virginia Tech, Seung-hui Cho, killed 32 students and teachers and then killed himself.
Hillary Clinton suffers concussion
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a concussion when she fainted after becoming dehydrated from a stomach bug, her office said Saturday.
A spokesman said Clinton will work from home next week, CNN reported. She canceled a planned trip to Morocco, where she was to recognize Syrian rebels because of her illness.
"While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion. She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors. At their recommendation, she will continue to work from home next week, staying in regular contact with Department and other officials. She is looking forward to being back in the office soon," Philippe Reines, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, said.
Her office announced that Clinton, on Dec. 18, will hold her fourth "Diplomacy at Home for the Holidays" reception. The event honors the work of U.S. government employees who are separated from their families while on overseas assignments.
The reception will be at the State Department with a performance by singer James Taylor and his wife, Caroline.
Pakistan airport attacked
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The airport in Peshawar, Pakistan, came under rocket and gun attack Saturday, leaving at least five people dead and dozens injured, authorities said.
Pakistan Today said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said at least five rockets were fired, with three falling inside the airport and two hitting buildings and vehicles nearby. The newspaper reported sources said the rockets were followed by heavy gunfire.
Pakistan Today said initial reports were that more than 40 people were injured, including women and children, with sources saying 25 of the injured and five bodies arrived at Khyber Teaching hospital.
Airport security force officials said the airport terminal building was not damaged. The airport is used as a base by the Pakistani air force, as well as by commercial airlines.
Geo News reported the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan terror group took responsibility for the attack, which was repelled by security forces.
"First the attackers breached the airport boundary wall with a car-bomb. Then they fired rockets at the airport to make headway," an unidentified official told Geo News.
"The gun-battle continued until security men neutralized all the attackers."
Sources told the Karachi news channel the bodies of two terrorists wearing suicide vests were found inside the airport.
"Four suicide vests have been defused so far," security sources said.
Final votes counted going to Obama
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The margin of President Obama's win in last month's U.S. elections has widened as the final ballots are counted, vote totals said.
The Los Angeles Times said Saturday the Election Day margin of just over 2 percent has gradually widened out to nearly 4 percent.
The Cook Political Report Friday gave Obama 50.97 percent of the popular vote to Mitt Romney's 47.3 percent. The totals include 47 states where the results have been certified as final.
Cook's David Wasserman told the Times the majority of the estimated 413,000 uncounted ballots were mainly in New York, a state that leaned heavily Democratic.
The Times said if Obama surpassed 51 percent of the popular vote, he would be only the fifth president in U.S. history to win election twice with 51 percent of the vote.
The last president to accomplish that feat was Dwight Eisenhower. The others included Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses Grant, William McKinley and Andrew Jackson, the Times said.
