TWENTY SEVEN shot dead including 18 children at Connecticut elementary as 'student's father' and a second shooter massacre entire class in worst school shooting in American history
- The shooter - believed to be 20-years-old from New Jersey - is confirmed dead
- Second gunman now in custody
- One entire classroom is unaccounted for, sources said
- One teacher said masked gunman started firing out shots from kindergarten classroom shortly after 9.30am
- One student said there were bullets whizzing by him in the hallway
- At least 100 rounds are believed to have been fired
- Female principal is believed to have been targeted
- At least three seriously injured in hospital
At least 27 people are dead - including 18 children - after a gunman believed to be a student's father opened fire today at an elementary school in Connecticut.
Police were dispatched to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown after they received reports of shots being fired by a gunman in one of the kindergarten classrooms of the school at 9.35am.
There are preliminary reports a student's 20-year-old father was the shooter and that he went from classroom to classroom firing at students and teachers with a.223-caliber rifle.
An entire classroom of students is unaccounted for and frantic parents are desperately seeking information on the safety of their children.
The gunman was killed at the scene though it is unclear if he shot himself or was brought down by an officer. A second man who was seen running from the scene right after the shooting was taken into custody a few hours later.
Scroll down for video
Traumatized students were seen being led out of the school crying and holding hands
A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following the tragic shooting this morning which has shocked the quiet suburban community
Chaotic scenes at the school as police work to secure the area and bodies are carried out of the school
Young children wait outside Sandy Hook Elementary School after a shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, this morning
A shooter opened fire at the elementary school shooting at least 20 people - more than a dozen children are believed to be dead
One mother told CBS that her child said there were bullets 'whizzing by' him in the hallway and that a teacher pulled him into a classroom.
The shooting is the latest in a series of high-profile gun crimes in American schools and colleges, that is especially shocking given the age of the students involved
Speaking with MSNBC, one mother said she had heard the principal had been shot dead.
'The principal was killed and some other people were shot,' the unidentified woman said outside the school.
Her daughter added: 'Miss Martin closed the door and we went into the corner', before the gunman let out 'lots of shots'.
A black Honda believed to belong to the shooter has been cordoned off
There are preliminary reports a students father, who is believed to be 20-years-old and from New Jersey, was the shooter. He was killed at the scene though it is unclear if he shot himself or was brought down by an officer
Parents pick-up children outside Sandy Hook Elementary School after 18 students and two adults were shot dead this morning
Hundreds of officers, sniffer dogs, and firefighters patrol the streets outside Sandy Hook Elementary School to secure the area