can you hear me. >> i'm the mayor of danbury. >> mayor of danbury. a i apologize.'t know if you've been privy to any information that has been shared. what can you tell us? >> well, i can tell you that, first of all, obviously our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this horrible incident. we have mutual aid agreements in place that allow us to provide assets that they may not have along with the state police that has taken the lead on this investigation. three of our victims are at the hospital in danbury and they are currently being treated. i can't tell you the status. i can only tell you that it's very serious. >> can you tell me, mayor boughton if they are children or adults? was this a staff incident or an incident with the children? >> i hate to do this to you. i know you want to get that information out. all of this is still under investigation. i can't disclose that information under hippa regulations. >> can i interrupt you for a moment. i want to go to an interview with a mother and child with our affiliate. >> recounting what is going on, joinin

victims in danbury.e there will be a presser at 1:00 the press will be able to attend to get more details what happened. obviously our hearts and prayers go out to the folks and victims and families of the victims right now. it is a difficult time for everybody in the greater danbury area. all of our schools at danbury have heightened police awareness and presence as well as all the regional schools in the area. so we're working on it hard and we'll bring all the assistance we can to newtown. jenna: mr. mayor, you mentioned three victims at the hospital, what can you tell us about them. are they teachers or students? >> i can't discuss who they are and nature of their injuries. i will tell you that some of the injuries are, are serious but other than that i can't discuss it. jenna: what about the children? do we know if the children in the school witnessed this incident? do you know if it happened inside a classroom? >> i don't know the details. our crime scene investigators along with state police are d

we have three patients at danbury hospital. we got the first call for help about an hour and 20 minutes ago. and they are now saying to withhold anymore ems units. is this mean that they are close to understanding the breadth and depth of this emergency? >> i think you're right, richard, i think this may well be a situation that just transpired in a very manner of minutes. there are unconfirmed reports of injuries, as you suggest now, we have got confirmation in the hospital. we're told the shooting may have taken place in the main office and that at least one shooter may be down. again, everything appears to be in inundetermined at this time, but by 12 by stopping any further ems units from coming, it indicates that they have -- if the shooter is under arrest, he has been dealt with by the police. >> let's go back to wvit. >> reporter: good morning, guys, i just spooky to a parent and shirley had been asking me, had any parents been reunited with their children yet. i did speak to one woman who had been reunited with her daugh

those three, who have been taken to danbury hospital.e also know from an eyewitness who said inside of the school at the time of the shooting that the vice principal was shot in the foot and came crawling back to the office. this is just unbelievable as we hear more of these details, and we'll be getting more information from a local news conference that's going to take place very shortly. we also heard just a few moments ago from a little girl who was inside of the school when the shooting started. >> third grade, aalexis. you told measure you were sitting in class this morning, and you saw a lot of police. tell me how you found out what was going on. >> well, we found like there was all these people, and we found it was because it was like near the window in our classroom. and like we saw a police officer and we heard them on the roof and in our building. >> was everybody crying, scared, wanting their parents to come get them? >> yeah, they are. some people even got a stomach ache. >> did you hear any gunshots or anything like that? >>

one from the danbury hospital and one center state police. we will have more information after the break. even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. [ male announcer ] jill and her mouth have lived a great life. but she has some dental issues she's not happy about. so i introduced jill to crest pro-health for life. selected for people over 50. pro-health for life is a toothpaste that defends against tender, inflamed gums, sensitivity and weak enamel. conditions people over 50 experience. crest pro-health for life. so jill can keep living the good life. crest. life opens up when you do. >> we are back with more developments. sandy hook is a school of 600, 5 to 10-year-olds. the apparent adult shooter is dead. police have recovered two handguns. the scene unfolded earlier today when a 911 call came in at 9:had 11 a.m. and at 9:57 there was a reverse 911 call to

we know of at least three people taken to the danbury hospital. do we know if some of those were among those that died in this, or are there others who are injured? >> i believe there are others who are injured, andrea, as you say, and the one thing i would emphasize here is that this is the single most difficult scenario for a school to defend itself from because the number of school shootings in america has been rapidly in decline over the last decade or 15 years since they peaked in the late 1990s around the -- with the columbine shooting, and since then the number of school shootings has gone down for a number of reasons. teachers now have better training to spot potential trouble. other students are told to report cries situations where they think other students are out of control, better anti-bullying programs, law enforcement people in the schools. all of hose things together are able to spot potential trouble signs from the source of what the school shootings were at their peak, which is other young people shooting their fellow classmates.

. >>> later this hour, we will be speaking with the mayor of danbury, connecticut. coming up also a programming note for you. senator dianne feinstein will be on "andrea mitchell reports" today at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> as i said, we are going to have the danbury, connecticut mayor coming up, mark boughton, who knew the principal of sandy hook elementary school. our big question today is does the right to bear arms trump the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? coming up, a chance to speak with republican congresswoman nan heyworth of new york to find out what she thinks. first, a live look at capitol hill. flags flying at half staff to honor victims of friday's school shooting. they will be lowered until tomorrow at sunset. begin. tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though, there's a kick to it. wahlalalalallala! smooth, but crisp. it's kind of like drinking a food that's a drink, or a drink that's a food, woooooh! [ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8. stop! stop! stop! come back here! humans

>> they have set up a special section in the united way in danbury. if you connect the united way danbury, they have an area where you can send funds and they're doing a lot of good work. >> okay. now your company itself has been pretty socially responsible. an issue that i thought was important is fuel, the footprint that your company has and how important this is to you. zero fuel now you use? >> it really is. it's a remarkable situation that we have, you know, we are a vertically integrated company. we have operations in vermont and vermont can go minus 40 in winter and this year we're going to burn zero oil. we have worked in terms of developing alternates, from wood waste we do heat and then we have a steam engine, like a steam engine in those old locomotive movies that you see, which creates electricity and also, jim, that we have probably one of the highest standards of environmental work that our associates do. we receive more awards from epa. most of the time epa gives you fines. we have established now two operations outside the united state

>> i'm from danbury, connecticut, right next to newtown. you know, the reason people are so shocked by this is this particular area in fairfield county is such a bucolic and rural and peaceful area. it's one of the places where people in new york city particularly want the move to because great school systems, lots of grass. in fact, my wife commented seeing the video how big the school was for just 600 elementary school kids. sandy hook is a small village which is part of newtown. it's a place that for when i grew up there didn't have a movie theater. it's that kind of a place. it's a very quiet bedroom community. very close-knit community. not a lot of activities. because it is so far in to a rural area. but, you know, when i heard on the radio that this happened in newtown, connecticut, i was shocked because not that it can't happen anywhere but these things don't happen in this kind of an environment. you know, my town, danbury, my hometown, they were on lockdown. there's places like new fairfield and new milford, my mother lives in oxf

that's not far away from danbury, 60 miles outside of new york city. of those 30, nearly 30 killed, we're told 18 to 20 of them are children. we don't know how many people have been injured. we're getting more information coming in from eyewitnesses and law enforcement authorities, but right now want to bring in ronald stevens, the executive director of the national school safety center, who deals with school safety all over the country. puts out protocols, what should be done. when you heard about this, ronald, what did you think? >> this was truly tragic that someone would attack the most innocent of all children, particularly with these youngsters being in grades k through 4. a lot of the violence we deal with is with those at the high school level, but truly a tragic and difficult situation for everyone in connecticut. >> so what do we do about this kind of -- your job is to make sure our schools, whether little elementary schools, like this one, or middle schools, or high schools, they are safe for parents to drop off their kids, not have to worry

abc's amy wobach reports from outside danbury hospital to bring us the many heros who emerged today.y? >> reporter: tonight, cynthia, we are learning more about the victims of today's deadly rampage. among the 20 children and six adults killed today, we now know that the school's principal, dawn hochsprung, was among those killed. parents describe her as a loving and caring educator who was always excited about the children in her school. we now know the teachers who she led made a big difference today saving lives. for more than 600 students who attend sandy hook elementary school, it is the teacher's words they followed day in and day out. today those words might just have saved their lives. >> teachers did get them in a single line format. they told them to put their hands over their eyes as they exited in the school and quickly walked them down the street to the firehouse. >> reporter: today amid the horror, stories of extraordinary courage and heroism. teachers who barricaded doors ended up in the line of fire, led their students to safety. richard wilford's 7-year-old son is in

and here in danbury, this is called a tribute to newtown.dreds of people through the the state of connecticut who are here to to pay support to the victims, the family members. we know from covering tragedies, the key to coping with it is for people to get together, so we have middle school bands who are here. an ensemble from the university here, which is western connecticut state university. right now, there's a pastor who's speaking. there will be a video tribute shortly to the children and to the adults killed. everyone who's come in here is getting gifts. the red cross is supplying mickey mouse dolls to the children. disney supplied them to the red cross, the red cross is supplying them to the kids. everyone is getting a candle and the adults are all gets roses, so it's a very poignant, very sad. we should point out one thing. this university happens to be where the killer went to college for a short time. but no one's discussing him, this night is all for the victims. erin? >> let me ask you, the vigil being held at western connecticut

i described the scene inside the hospital, danbury hospital, where three of the victims were taken. we haven't been able to confirm the conditions of those victims. we're hoping to know more shortly. but, the scene inside the hospital is just one of as i described it as abject grief, nurses crying in the hallways, people, even patients here incolosable trying to wrap their minds around this. how evil do you have to be to do something like this. >> that in fact is the big question. we'll have dais to figure that out. n.j., one thing that stopped us in our tracks, you're at danbury hospital, that was the designated triage center for this tragedy as it unfolded today but what's different about the tragedy today so often, you see the gurneys being rushed in with the injured, the number that you offered, only three made it to the hospital would say perhaps a lot of what unfolded at that school. >> well, without question. and you know, the people here, the doctors, the nurses, the staff were hoping they would be able to treat more people, they only got to treat three people and although i

>> that's right, we're here at danbury hospital where the medical staff told us they thought it mustot like 9/11 because they had their entire staff waiting here to receive the injured. only three arrived. the death count unimaginable, but as you mentioned, so many people are attributing that number to the heroic acts of teachers. if it weren't for their bravery, many in the community believe that number would have been even higher. >> reporter: for the nearly 700 students who attend sandy hook elementary school, it is the teachers' words they follow day in and day out. today, those words might have just saved their life. >> his teacher went and checked, locked and closed the door. they went into a corner until they were recovered by police. >> the teacher put them in the corner and they weren't allowed to move until the police came. >> this raunt restaurant has been serving pizza to sandy hook parents and teachers for more than 30 years. >> they're all heroes. >> it does sound that the teachers did everything humanly possible, down to risking their own lives to protect the children

and i'm here quite a bit as well as in danbury. really all around the state. it has the strength and courage that it has demonstrated. >> one other question. you're going to go back to washington. united states senate. is new federal legislation needed to tighten up gun control in the united states? >> you know, wolf, i think that is a conversation i'm going to have with my colleagues. and today i'm not going to discuss that out of respect to the families and i'm going to be back be again tomorrow. but i'm going to go to washington and i'm going to raise this issue and i think it's time for the conversation to be renewed for the dialogue to begin again and for the senate to consider whether that kind of action is necessary. >> senator blumenthal, thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >> our deep condolences to everyone in the state. they are suffering and so are we. >> thank you. thank you for being here. >>> that's it. what a horrific story. what else could i say? i will be back later. a special three-hour "the situation room" starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern u

the nearest big hospital is in danbury, connecticut. their emergency room was put on full alert just after the shooting. personnel came in. they were warned to prepare for the very worst. sadly, though, that is not what happened. we pick up that part of the story with nbc's andrea canning. >> reporter: after the shooting, the schools were in lockdown, as was danbury hospital, the staff braced to receive the wounded. dr. john murphy is head of the hospital. >> the reason for that is really out of an abundance of caution. we want to be sure that we allow the team to focus on the work at hand. >> i assembled four teams, one in each trauma room. >> reporter: dr. pat broderick is in charge of the emergency room. so you obviously have plans in place for this type of emergency? >> we rehearse this, we practice it. we hope to god we'll never need this. but in the event this occurs, everybody just goes back into their basic training and just does whatever they need to do to be helpful. >> reporter: just after 10:00 in the morning, the victims st

in connecticut looking into whether suspect lanza tried to purchase a gun from a dick's store in danbury connecticut. >>> the company that under wrote facebook's troubled public stock offering will pay five million dollars to massachusetts. morgan stanley accused disclosing fall in revenue to certain analysts not the public facebook stock plunged after the news became public massachusetts sued because the drop forced state officials to revise expected revenue estimates. >>> one of those bundle up mornings out there. >> it is. [ unintelligible ] >>> one more cold morning before we get to the rain. the rain will bring warmer weather. we may see snow out of the next system? probably not the sierra they will get a nice dumping, if you wait until thursday it may be too late and you may have one of those eight or nine hour trips to the high country. looking down from mount tamalpais beautiful picture sausalito, tiburon, san francisco, all the way down to san mateo bridge, clear this morning and live doppler 7 hd reinforcing the fact that we hardly have any clouds over land but we have them ove

. >> 20 minute drive from here in danbury. people have gathered for a tribute there.y is there. >> reporter: a very emotional evening right now. this is a painful story for all of us all over the world and it is acute here in the state of connecticut. and right now in danbury, a tribute to newtown. to the families and the survivors music and prayer. a short time ago a video tribute to the 20 children who died and it was so hard to watch, beautiful music playing and beautiful songs playing while hundreds of people here experiencing it. one thing, anderson, i know it is the same with you, we have covered so many tragedies, what is amazing here, we have made so many friends, i'm grateful, but sorry for how we have made these friends. that is what is happening right now. there is no such thing as closure. these families, but the more people stay together, become friendly together, the easier that recovery will be for them. but it is never complete for so many people >> anderson? >> gary, we appreciate that tonight. we have a lot more ahead. >> new polling as well suggesti

two additional children were transported to danbury hospital later pronounced dead. sex adults including the school's principal dead at the scene. the shooter is dead, as well. separately, an adult dead. that is, the assailant's mother is dead but, again, the reports that the father had been killed in new jersey may not be accurate. reports are that the father is much alive. now stepping back to get a sense from former city mayor giuliani. mayor, so much to put together. >>guest: this is horrendous and something it is hard to keep your emotions in check. all of us who are parents, a nightmare you live through, a quiet community, semi rural community, near the federal prison that i know well, danbury prison. this has to be a total complete traumatic blow to the community. you will not get easy answers, there are in easy answers. anyone who tries to present easy 18s is ignoring the problem and to examine why it happened, is it happening more frequently, can we reduce it? everyone has to be on the table, you cannot be an advocate or one social view or political view or

no word on when guns will move back into the store in danny ferr --- danbury, connecticut. any new developments we will pass along. back to you. >> thank you. the community of newtown connecticut, takes another step toward healing after friday's deadly shooting. all the town's schools will reopen today except for sandy hook elementary. >> loved ones preparing to say goodbye to another young victim's. 6-year-old jessica. tom roussey has more from the funerals held monday for two other children. >> these students came to sing a song about keeping faith in troubled times. they also came to shed some tears. two of them go to newtown middle school where students whose brothers and sisters were killed. >> just thinking about them and their families. it is horrible. >> the first funerals, hundreds gathered to remember jack pinto known for his love of the new york giants. >> we are coming together as teammates. >> noah pozner's funeral was held in nearby fairfield. whenever his mother told him that she loved him, he replied not as much as meatpacker mom. those boys were six years o

. >> about a 20-minute drive from here in danbury, people gathered for a tribute to newtown.y tuchman is there. he joins us now. gary? >> anderson a very emotional evening right now. this is a painful story for all of us all over the world and it is acute here in the state of connecticut. and right now in danbury, connecticut, about 15 miles away from newtown, a tribute to newtown, to the victims, the survivors, music, prayer. a short time ago a video tribute of the 20 children who died and the six adults who died and it was so emotional. so hard to watch. beautiful music playing. beautiful songs playing while everyone in this room, hundreds of people from throughout the state of connecticut experiencing it. one thing, anderson, i know it is the same with you, we have covered so many tragedies, it's so discouraging, bombings, shooting. what's amazing, here we made so many friends already. i'm grateful for the friends i've made at these tragedies but so sorry for making these friends. that is what is happening right now. people are getting together. there is no such thing as c

the hospital in neighboring danbury connecticut is treating three patient. school and the facility was on lockdown. we spoke with the mayor of danbury who said the communities had actions plans in place. >> whether it was a school shooter or mass casualty we drill and we practice and the kids practice. that is why we need these things so we are ready. >> we spoke with an 8-year-old would came out of school 10 minutes ago and said she remembers fire drills and we know a drill is one thing but a mass shooting is another. little can prepare you for this. the parents have been stunned saying they have known newtown, connecticut, as one of the safest places in the country. rick? rick: we are surrounded by dozens of members of the media. the governor is very close and is expected to approach the podium. i want to update our viewers on information from a reliable federal law enforcement source who says the shooter in this case may not be ryan lanza but his brother. ryan lanza is in custody in new jersey and that adam, 20, is, in fact, the shooter and used an assaul

i knew lauren russeau, she was a danbury person, lived in our city. i knew the principal to hear from other people to get their empathy and sympathy is important, but newtown needs its space now. they need to understand they'll never be able to process what happened in the sense of it's a sane thing that happened, but they need space to come together and gather together. >> mayor mark boughton, so good of you to come over tonight. thank you very much. good luck to everybody in this community. >>> up next, why did the gunman take so many lives before taking his own? we'll talk to criminologist james fox and clint van zandt to discuss what could be in the mind of that killer. this holiday, share everything. share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. shareable data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. get a droid incredible 4g lte by htc for $49.99. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-selt

i will be joined by the mayor of danbury right next to newtown. thank you for joining me. this is almost beyond description, beyond any understanding. how is the community dealing with this or are they? what can you do? >> well, obviously it's been a horrific day in the greater danbury area and particularly the town of newtown. our heart goes out to the individuals who lost loved ones today and obviously the children and the staff and everybody else. it's been an incredibly difficult day. i have to tell you that we're doing what needs to be done. the first responders were tremendous and the staff have been heroic in terms of their approach to this. it's an absolute international tragedy and crisis. >> i understand that you knew the principal of the school who also was killed. >> that's correct. i had the honor of working in the same school system and very close proximity to dawn who passed away today. she was a teacher in the school system and elevated up through the ranks and ended up the principal here in newtown. a committed, hardworking and dedicated educator. someone

the nearest hospital is in danbury, connecticut. they were put on full alert just after the shooting. personnel came in, they were warned to prepare for the very worst. sadly, though, that is not what happened. we pick up that part of the story with nbc's andrea canning. >> reporter: after the shooting the schools in newtown were in lockdown. and so was danbury hospital as the emergency room staff braced to receive the wounded. dr. john murphy is head of the hospital. >> currently under lockdown, the reason for that is an abundance of caution. we want to be sure we allow the team to focus at hand. >> i allowed four teams, one in each trauma room. >> reporter: dr. pat broderick is in charge in the emergency room. so you obviously have plans in place for this type of emergency? >> we rehearse this and practice it, and hope we don't need this in an emergency. everybody goes back to basic training and does whatever they need to do to be helpful. >> reporter: just after 10:00 in the morning, the victims start coming, one after the other,

and when your life feels blessed, you feel like you can take on the world. >> you work at the danbury> you work with newborns? >> yes. [ inaudible question ] >> i was at work when my wife called me. and then i was able to find a television and start trying to get any information i can. >> were you there when any of the children -- >> i wasn't. i don't work in the emergency room, so i wasn't involved with any of that. [ inaudible question ] >> you know what's interesting about that, my family just moved to newtown about eight months ago. when i accepted the job here. so the impression i got from people on the east coast was a lot different from what i experienced when i got here, that's for sure. everybody that -- everything that everybody was telling me out west was that i was in for a rude awakening. but the people here have been amazing. and i've never met so many people that were willing to help us when we moved here to get established to getting to know me and my family. i truly love it here. and i'm glad to be here. [ inaudible question ] >> i keep hearing that. i haven't really

in danbury, connecticut, tory done a.m., k tv news. >>> house minority leader nancy pelosi is calling a band on saul magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. >> we are doing everything in our power to prevent tragedies from happening again. >> representative pelosi is calling on housespeaker john boehner to bring the proposed legislation to the house floor by a vote this saturday. >> president obama you new call for gun control and mental health struck a cord in the bay area. at the canyon sports gunshot in martinez, people had strong opinions on the topic, the owner, ron kennedy says president obama unpressure to take action under the new town tragedy. two people we spoke with support efforts to support gun violence and mental source resources. >> the mental health is a huge concern. >> not sure how the policies would look but both of them should be looked to and regulated. it is scary out there. >> the state attorney general's office has ceased more than 2,000 fire armies this year from people possessing weapons including people mentally unstable. we have more coverage

and family members grieve for the loss of their loved ones. 12-year-old jocelyn cardenas came from danbury, connecticut it drop off flowers at a memorial for the 26 people killed at sandy hook elementary school. >> even though we didn't know anyone directly just hurt because you never know what's going to happen next. >> reporter: she is one of many grieving for those gunned down in newtown, connecticut friday morning. investigators identified the shooter as 20-year-old adam lanza. the medical examiner says everyone was shot multiple times with a rifle. >> this probably is the worst i have seen. >> reporter: eight boys and 12 girls all ages 6 and 7 died including ana marquez-greene, the daughter of a well-known saxophone player; and emilie parker, who moved to newtown a year ago. >> she was a type of person that could just light up the room. she -- [ crying ] >> she always had something kind to say about anybody. >> reporter: this community of about 27,000 is coming together to try to cope with this tragedy. all throughout town people are putting up signs like this one to support each othe

loss of loved ones and a community tries to pull together. 12-year-old jocelyn cardenaz came from danbury, connecticut it drop off flowers at a memorial for the 26 people killed at sandy hook elementary school. >> even though we didn't know anyone directly just hurt because you never know what's going to happen next. >> reporter: she is one of many grieving for those gunned down in newtown, connecticut friday morning. investigators identified the shooter as 20-year-old adam lanza. the medical examiner says everyone was shot multiple times with a rifle. >> this probably is the worst i have seen. >> reporter: eight boys and 12 girls all ages 6 and 7 died including anna marcus green the daughter of a well-known saxophone player and emily parker who moved to newtown a year ago. >> she was a type person that could just light up the room. she -- [ crying ] ... >> she always had something kind to say about anybody. >> reporter: this community of about 27,000 is coming together to try to cope with this tragedy. all throughout town people are putting up signs like this one to support each other. >

we do know some wounded taken to nearby hospitals, including danbury, connecticut. we are still waiting for the president to speak to give an update and we will hear from the governor of connecticut for the latest sig. the president is expected to make a statement at the white house briefing room. you can see the live reporters waiting to speak to him right now and we are going back to -- i'm sorry, is it rob roth? okay, we are going back to paul chambers for an update. >> we have to remember this is the 3rd time the president has had to deal with a mass shooting, he dealt with the one in west virginia and injured congresswoman gabrielle giffords. we do know that this incident started 9:40. this 24-year-old ryan lanza, the gunman in this situation, his mother's name is nancy lanza and also among the dead. that's the connection we heard that he has to the school. right now unconfirmed 27 people are dead, 18 of which are said to be students. now of course we do know that lanza is from new jersey and being searched by a dozen police officers at the time. we also know t

they are not expecting any more victims to be brought to the connecticut hospital in danbury. twenty-six dead confirmed by fox news. we believe it is 26 people plus the gunman? we are getting different reports for the question is, do we believe that the victims are still in school. reporter: if you have that many victims located in the school, it is going to be a very long and very difficult and very grisly crime scene it has to be processed before anybody is our move. has to be carefully documented, photographs have to be taken. all victims have to be secured. then transported from the scene once the entire crime scene has been mapped out. that could take hours. you can expect a crime seen around the school for days. police will continue to keep everyone out as they process this end are covered the victims inside the school. it will not be over quickly. megyn: one can only wonder what the parents of those who are not accounted for are going through. is there a holding place for them? do we know whether they are present on the scene at all? we haven't seen that as of late. rep

a nurse from nearby danbury hospital described the scene there as parents waited for word about their children. >> parents, all these parents were waiting for their children to come out. they thought they were, you know, still alive. and there's 20 parents that were just told that their children are dead. it was awful. >> the father of a young girl who survived was just trying to process it all. >> it was shocking. i got the call at work this morning and -- i can't believe a small town like this would ever have anything like this happen. and to be in an elementary school, it's unheard of. >> by late friday afternoon and into the evening, evacuated children were being cared for and reuniting with their parents at a nearby fire house. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> we're also getting a lot of questions about how you can help those affected. if you want to help, go to cnn.com/impact. john? >> thanks so much, ali. as everyone knows, our focus as much as it can be is on victims. there is an investigation going on right now. there are so many questions. and we're learning more now about th

. >> pelley: the trauma unit at the hospital in danbury, connecticut, about ten miles away, was immediately mobilized. three victims were taken there and the doctors were read ready to help more, but no more wounded came. jeff glor is at the hospital. >> reporter: scott, two of the children who were taken here died. it's our understanding that one patient is still being treated tonight. when this happened, they had four trauma teams ready but, as you mentioned, one of the most heartbreaking realizations here is that the hospital realized most of the victims would never even leave the school. we spoke with dr. john murphy, who was coordinating coverage this morning. >> well, i was in the emergency room when we got the call that there would not be any more victims coming. and that was a devastating call to get and the room fell silent when we shared the news and there was a moment of deep grief recognizing what that meant. >> reporter: that most of the victims couldn't be saved. >> that's correct. >> reporter: scott, this is the main hospital in a small town so they're not only dealing with t

members of several nearby communities gathered at western connecticut state university in danbury. for the "tribute to new town". a special event of support for the grieving town. in his initial remarks about the shooting which took the lives of 20-school children. president obama promised meaningful action to prevent gun violence. today. he took the first step toward that goal. grant lodes is standing by with more on that. grant ? return to index of stories... president obama talking tough this morning.about the need to reduce gun voilence.especially mass shootings like the one we just saw. and today we learned vice president joe biden will lead a task force that will present a set of gun control recommendations to the president. issues likey to be at the forefront.military-style assault weapons, high capacity ammunition clips, and loopholes to get around background checks. the president said he will make very specific proposals once he gets the recommendations next month. on friday.the n- r-a will talk for the first time since the elementary school shooting. return to index of st

connecticut were treated at a hospital in nearby danbury.ozens of people standing by in the emergency room to treate multiple victims. but even they couldn't escape the gravity of the situation. >> it is unthinkable. we are all hurting here. we're also all professionals and committing to providing care and what did the committee counts on us for. as i mentioned earlier, this is with the community counts on us for. this is our community. it >>pam: hospital officials would not give an update on the statuses of the victims. but danbury mayor mark boughton said the victims were in "very serious" condition. once the gravity of the situation became apparent. >> oftwitter was flooded with reaction from elected officials. san francisco mayor ed lee tweeted this afternoon, "today's shocking events in connecticut are an unimaginable national tragedy. words cannot express our grief and sympathy for the families affected." u.s. senator dianne feinstein said "i am horrified and incensed by today's tragedy in connecticut. we mourn for those killed and fam

ape dispatcher said that one teacher has been transported to a nearby hospital in danbury with a gunshot wound. >> ahead of him it is difficult to see the wat them that was responding. those vehicles raced from newtown from all over the state of connecticut. >> we heard numerous reports that one gunman maybe two. and two reports said that one gunman may be dead . it is a fast-move fluid situation in the school . >> i think it is it important on a day like today to view this as i know the president, as a father does and i the father and others who partners certain lie do, which -- other parents certainly do. feeling enormous sympathy for the families that are affected. and do everything we can. >>s are telling fox nuse that 26 people are dead at this time and eight adults including the shooter and 18 children . >> is a gun shot and so they are trying to figure out what happened . we tell them what happened in the deat as and it makes it much worse. >> the shooter may a young man 20 years old and he may live in new jersey and there may have been a separate situation there, a crime scene wh

danbury has a bigger police force and state police were in here. john berman said the authorities did a fantastic job of shepherding everybody and giving a great information flow, but ultimately they are maybe trained for it but have had no experience with this. one homicide in this town in ten years, what is it like for police in a situation like that who don't deal with these situations on a regular basis? when they get the calls, the 911 dispatch calls that tells them there's a shooting in a school on lockdown and they are hearing gunfire? >> it appears in this case the police action was exceptionally well coordinated and well executed. they went to the scene and didn't know if they had more shooters. hay had to not only secure the premesis but go throughout the community. kids ran out of the school with no telling where they ran to. the possibility of additional shooters that may have run into the wooded area surrounding the school, so the police had an overwhelming task from the first minute of this incident to really even continue with now. s

ever experienced, that's what i heard from a physician here who also is the president and ceo of danbury hospital. he talked about the moment he received the phone call expecting two dozen victims who will come here requiring immediate medical care. he amassed 80 doctors and nurses, the finest surgeons available to be prepared for anything and everything, and they only received three injured victims at this point. they said about ten minutes later, that's when they realized that no more were coming. it's important to note, he said, this obviously affected everyone who was in this hospital at the time. all the police officers, the firefighters, the children and teachers inside the school, the parents, there is no one in this community who wasn't affected. this means this is going to be a community that will require medical, emotional care for years to come. they have set up services that people can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. they actually have mobile labs spread out throughout the community to help anyone who feels a moment of crisis because this is something they will deal

i grew up in danbury, the town where the main hospital is.d you move here because things don't happen here. there is no gun culture. this is a very quiet town. >> that's an interesting point that you make. this is not a place where you expect something -- well no place is a place where you expect something like this to happen let's be clear. but because as you said this is not a gun culture area that made it even more shocking. >> reporter: it was. it was one of the strange things coming up here from washington journalists coming up to cover the story. so often when we talk about these stories it's out west or areas where hunting and more obvious cultures are integrated. here i was listening the people and i'm shaking up hearing people talk about it. i know that. the first thing i did yesterday is pick up the phone and find out where my cousins here who were in lockdown at the catholic school. >> one of your cousins is 12 years old? >> reporter: junior high age. >> when you're talking to your family and they're on the ground here, especially

ape dispatcher said that one teacher has been transported to a nearby hospital in danbury with a gunshotound. >> ahead of him it is difficult to see the wat them that was responding. those vehicles raced from newtown from all over the state of connecticut. >> we heard numerous reports that one gunman maybe two. and two reports said that one gunman may be dead . it is a fast-move fluid situation in the school . >> i think it is it important on a day like today to view this as i know the president, as a father does and i the father and others who partners certain lie do, which -- other parents certainly do. feeling enormous sympathy for the families that are affected. and do everything we can. >>s are telling fox nuse that 26 people are dead at this time and eight adults including the shooter and 18 children . >> is a gun shot and so they are trying to figure out what happened . we tell them what happened in the deat as and it makes it much worse. >> the shooter may a young man 20 years old and he may live in new jersey and there may have been a separate situation there, a crime scene wher

down the street from danbury, connecticut, teach them well, a quote from the president at the vigil and the memorial ceremony. commentators are speaking of the shootings here in newtown. we will have more coverage as our team continues live in newtown. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] campbell's green bean casserole. it's amazing what soup can do >> the school shooting here in newtown brings the issue of gun violence to the front burner. this is a complicated issue and the press secretary said the president supports certain gun restrictions he said we must also reassess how we dole with things such as mental health. >> the president has long supported reinstating the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. as the president has said, and i just said this is a complex problem that requires complex and a variety of solutions. >>reporter: a new abc abc -- abc news and "washington post" people are at 54 percent who want more strict gun control laws compared to 43 percent who oppose this. >> last night the president got high marks across the spectrum for focusing largely on trying to bring the countr

it's near danbury, connecticut. the young man who police say was the shooter reportedly walked into two different classrooms at sandy hook elementary. he fired dozens of rounds. he killed 26 people. 18 children pronounced dead at the scene. six adults pronounced dead at the scene. and then two children who survived their initial wounds and were hospitalized later died in hospital. the shooter then killed himself at the school. the associated press is citing a law enforcement official moments ago saying authorities found more than the previously described two guns at the school once they responded. more firearms than the two we have previously heard about. they're not giving any further details yet. but that report just in from the associated press. the students who were not shot, none of them older than fourth graders, were escorted out of the building by police officers this morning. they were taken to a fire station next door. police officers reportedly told some of the children to keep their eyes closed until the