AP source: 20-year-old suspect had ties to school

From the AP: A law enforcement official says the attacker in the Connecticut school shootings is a 20-year-old man with ties to the school.

The official said that a gun used in the attacks is a .223-caliber rifle. The official also said that New Jersey state police are searching a location in that state in connection with the shootings, said by an official in Connecticut to have left 27 dead, including 18 children.

The official in Washington spoke on the condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak on the record about the developing criminal investigation.

press conference on shooting at #newtown Sandy Hook Elementary live NOW http://bit.ly/HtXpXJ

Police: Shooter is deceased inside the building

Police are not saying how many people were killed.

State police: Shooter is dead, scene is secure #newtown

CNN is reporting at least 10 children are dead.

CNN reporter describes Newtown as a "sleepy little town" located about an hour's drive north of New York City, and says residents are stunned that such an event could occur.

Another CNN reporter interviewed a second-grade teacher who said she was in a meeting with others when they heard a "pop pop pop" in the hallway; three people left the room to investigate, but only one returned because the other two were shot. There must have been "at least" 100 rounds, the witness said. The vice principal who went into the hallway was shot in the foot and came crawling back into the room.

CNN quotes teacher-witness as saying she was in a meeting to discuss one of her second-grade students when the shooting started. After the shooting stopped, those at the meeting were led out of the building, and passed by bodies lying in pools of blood.

A list of some of the deadliest mass shootings around the world (AP)

CNN interviewed the parent of an 8-year-old student at the school. She said she got a call from a teacher who had taken her daughter into a bathroom and locked the door; she said the teacher told her daughter that the gunshot sounds were somebody hammering. Eventually police knocked on the door and escorted them out; she said her daughter did see blood and broken glass.

RT @jennydwilson: Neighbor says when it happened he was fairly close to school, heard and saw helicopters but wasn't sure what was going ...

CNN interviewed a nurse who rushed to the school when she heard the news. She described the scene as "awful", especially when ambulances left the scene because there was nothing they could do for those who had been killed.