well, police chief michael kehoe and captain joe rios arrived at sandy hook elementary within minutes of the call. >> we needed to break into the school to get in because the back doors are secured. >> reporter: how did you get it open? >> broke out the window. >> reporter: it was quiet, and the halls were empty. chief kehoe searched sandy hook elementary room by room. >> with the rooms locked, that means the teachers had done their job, locked their doors and hid their children from danger. so we went around the building to the front of the building. >> reporter: tell me about that. >> there was a very tragic observation on all parts because then you could see the carnage that was present. >> reporter: when you saw what was in that classroom, what went through your mind? >> i was devastated, absolutely devastated. i had no words. i felt a little bit of anger towards the person who had done this. >> reporter: did you think there was anyone there to save? >> no. >> reporter: as a first responder, how do you deal with that? >> well, you feel a sense of guilt that you weren't there quick

joining us on the phone newtown police chief michael kehoe. he has been through quite a lot and your officers have been through quite a lot as well as the community. give us a sense of what this means for them to simply be with their own loved ones, their own kids in this time of recovery and grief. >> you are absolutely correct. christmas is a time of giving and at this time we were gifted with our law enforcement partners volunteering their time to have our officers spend time with their families. i know that on behalf of all of the men and women of the newtown police department we are eter l eternally grateful for their support and contributions today. >> you know, nobody could even imagine what the first

>> axelrod: troy kehoe in bloomington, indiana, for us, thank you. david bernard is the chief meteorologist at our cbs station in miami. he's following the storm system. david, as the storm tracks north, who has the most to worry about? >> well, there is a lot of real estate to cover, jim. let's start by looking at the satellite and radar combined this evening, and we have a big shield of snow this afternoon covering areas from detroit to cleveland, right through northern pennsylvania, now pushing into western portions of new york. south of there, all along the i- 95 corridor through new york and philly and d.c. and south of there, very heavy rain occurring this evening, and that's going to be the story overnight. and it looks like even into tomorrow that heavy rain is likely going to continue. >> axelrod: how bad will this disrupt travel? >> well, i think the big problem is going to be the snowfall in the inland areas. let's give an idea of how much more snow could fall between now and early saturday when the storm ends. those purple areas you see a

joining us on the phone newtown police chief michael kehoe.e has been through quite a lot and your officers have been through quite a lot as well as the community. give us a sense of what this means for them to simply be with their own loved ones, their own kids in this time of recovery and grief. >> you are absolutely correct. christmas is a time of giving and at this time we were gifted with our law enforcement partners volunteering their time to have our officers spend time with their families. i know that on behalf of all of the men and women of the newtown police department we are eter l eternally grateful for their support and contributions today. >> you know, nobody could even imagine what the first responders and the officers went through, what they saw inside of that school. how are they coping today? what are you doing to help them in the community? >> besides giving them a day off, encouraging them to be with their families and go to religious services and to certainly reach out to their friends and neighbors so they feel a sense of

. >> reporter: a year ago, chief keho read to a sandy hook kindergarten class. all 20 children killed were first graders. >> i may have read to some of these students that may have perished or not and that kind of hit me hard. i know as part of that reading, they got to ask a lot of questions. and some of those questions were about their safety and why policemen come to a school. and i know that maybe we in some way -- we -- owe them. >> you feel guilty? >> i feel some sense of guilt, deep down inside. i just believe that our job was to keep, you know, kids safe. >> how would you respond to suggestions that having armed police officers in schools could prevent shootings? >> i don't think we want to arm police officers in every school. >> so you don't think that's the answer? >> no. >> reporter: the newtown police department already has three officers assigned to the district. but the chief says their primary role is community outreach. >>> some of holidays biggest celebrities are putting their faces and feelings into public service announcements to end gun viole

police chief michael keho says it was a horrific scene when he reached the part of the school where 20 first graders and six adults were shot and killed. >> i was devastated. absolutely devastated. i had no words. >> reporter: he says it was clear no one in the classroom could be saved. >> you feel a sense of guilt in that you weren't there quick enough to do that. but i also know that our response stopped that threat, and he could not proceed any further. >> reporter: newtown police officers are wearing bands around their badges in honor of the victims. and they're still searching for answers to explain why lanza targeted the elementary school. theresa garcia, cbs news. >> some of holiday's celebrities are putting their faces and feelings on the gun violence. >> as a human being. >> for the children of sandy hook. >> demand a plan. >> no more lists of names. >> it's not too soon. >> it's too late. >> now is the time. >> before we all know someone who loves someone on that list. >> no more lists. >> the demand a plan campaign appeared just hours after the nra suggested armed guards in

. >> now, this is the newtown police, the police chief and commander there is chief michael keho. they have a total of 47 sworn officers in uniform. i'm here with susan paige and draifd gregory, and we're waiting for the law enforcement officials who presumably are trying to get the latest information. we know that the shooter has been killed. there are lockdowns at all schools and at the hospital which we are told by hospital officials about 20 minutes ago was precautionary to makes sure that the hospital employees felt safe and that the security and privacy of victims was preserved. they are clearly worried about outsiders and even the news media trying to get information or get in. we're talking about newtown, connecticut. the population there as of the last census was 27,550. it's northern fairfield county 45 miles southwest of hartford, 80 miles northeast of new york city. about an hour and a half. susan paige and david gregory, when we talk about gun violence in this country, are we not talking about second amendment rights? we're talking, as i was discussing with the brady