Every child killed at Sandy Hook was in first grade

All 26 of Adam Lanza's victims at the school in Newtown, Connecticut were shot multiple times with a long gun of some sort, officials said today. The victims were first graders, ages six and seven, and six female staffers. Lanza's mother Nancy, who was shot and killed at the home she shared with her son, did not work at the school. Adam Lanza's connection to the school remained unclear on Saturday. He killed himself at the school, for a total of 28 deaths.

The principal and the school psychologist were killed as they tried to approach the gunman and protect students.

From the New York Times:

“This is a very devastating set of injuries,” said Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, the chief medical examiner for Connecticut. He said that it appeared that all of the children had been killed by a long rifle that the gunman was carrying, one of several weapons police recovered from the school.

Dr. Carver said that parents were shown photos of their children to spare them from seeing the gruesome results of the shooting rampage, which left 20 children dead, along with six adults at the school....

With the examinations complete and the families informed, the authorities released the names of those killed. Among the children, there were 12 girls killed and 8 boys. All of the children were in the first grade, officials said. Sixteen of the 20 were 6 years old; the rest were 7. One little girl had just turned 7 on Tuesday.

New York Times photo: Richard Perry