http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=8920352Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting leaves 27 dead, including 18 children, official confirms to AP December 14, 2012 (NEWTOWN, Connecticut) -- An official with knowledge of the Connecticut school shooting says 27 are dead, including 18 children.
PHOTOS: Connecticut Elementary School Shooting
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PHOTOS: Newtown, Connecticut, Elementary School Shooting
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Police report that the school is now cleared of shooters, but they are still treating it as an active shooter situation and all schools in the district remain locked down. There are unconfirmed reports of a second shooter, but it is unclear what happened to that gunman.
State police officers have gone classroom to classroom to make sure the school is clear. Authorities are searching the area, doing roadblocks and checking suspicious vehicles out of an abundance of caution. There are also unconfirmed reports that authorities have surrounded a purple van in Danbury that may be connected to the shooting.
State police are assisting Newtown police at the school, located on Dickinson Drive in Fairfield County. Governor Dan Malloy is also at the scene.
The first 911 call reportedly came in just after 9:40 a.m., stating that multiple students were trapped in a classroom with a gunman, who authorities say was an adult who had at least two guns. The school locks its exterior doors during the school day, so it is unclear how the gunman or gunmen gained access to the building.
Students were escorted from the building and evacuated to a nearby firehouse, and a reverse 911 call went out to parents. Some children could be seen reuniting with their parents outside the firehouse, but at least one group of students remain unaccounted for.
Some students were reportedly being treated for trauma. A dispatcher at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps said a teacher had been shot in the foot and taken to Danbury Hospital.
The school houses more than 600 students from kindergarten through fourth grade.
Superintendent of schools Kathy June released the following statement: "Due to reports of a shooting as yet unconfirmed, the district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff. All public and private schools in the town are in a lockdown situation."
The district is made up of four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Schools in neighboring Monroe also locked down its schools as a precaution.
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