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Search for motive in Conn. school shooting
A woman comforts a young girl during a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. / AP Photo/Andrew Gombert
Last Updated 10:29 a.m. ET
NEWTOWN, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at a Connecticut elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, a 20-year-old described as brilliant but remote, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims.
CBS News has learned that all of the dead have been identified by authorities with the help of pictures provided by grieving parents and family members.
Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance told "CBS This Morning: Saturday" that the bodies have been removed from the school, which remains a crime scene.
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Investigators were trying to learn more about the gunman, Adam Lanza, and questioned his older brother, who is not believed to have been involved in the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary. Police shed no light on the motive for the nation's second-deadliest school shooting.
At a Saturday morning press briefing Lt. Vance said that investigators at the school crime scene and at the secondary crime scene - the home of the shooter's mother - did produce "very good evidence."
"We're hopeful it will paint a complete picture as to how and why this unfortunate incident occurred," he said.
Lt. Vance also confirmed that the gunman was not allowed into the elementary school and had forcibly entered the building.
He also said there have been other arrests associated with this investigation.
In tight-knit Newtown on Friday night, hundreds of people packed St. Rose of Lima church and stood outside in a vigil for the 28 dead — 20 children and six adults at the school, the gunman's mother at home, and the gunman himself, who committed suicide. People held hands, lit candles and sang "Silent Night."
"These 20 children were just beautiful, beautiful children," Monsignor Robert Weiss said. "These 20 children lit up this community better than all these Christmas lights we have. ... There are a lot brighter stars up there tonight because of these kids."
One parent whose children had escaped the event felt a different emotion: "I feel in some respect guilty because I have my baby here, and I just hope anybody who needs help . . . I feel terrible."
Lanza is believed to have suffered from a personality disorder and lived with his mother, said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation.
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Lanza shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, drove to the school in her car with at least three guns, including a high-powered rifle that he apparently left in the back of the vehicle, and shot up two classrooms around 9:30 a.m. Friday, law enforcement officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A custodian ran through the halls, warning of a gunman, and someone switched on the intercom, perhaps saving many lives by letting them hear the chaos in the school office, a teacher said. Teachers locked their doors and ordered children to huddle in a corner or hide in closets as shots echoed through the building.
Connecticut elementary school shooting
The well-liked principal, Dawn Hochsprung, was believed to be among the dead. A woman who worked at the school was wounded. An update on victims' identities was possible Saturday morning, state police Lt. Paul Vance said Friday evening.
A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said investigators believe Lanza attended the school several years ago but appeared to have no recent connection to it.
At least one parent said Lanza's mother was a substitute teacher there. But her name did not appear on a staff list. And the official said investigators were unable to establish any connection so far between her and the school.
Lanza's older brother, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, N.J., was questioned, but a law enforcement official said he was not believed to have had a role in the rampage. Investigators were searching his computers and phone records, but he told law enforcement he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation.
At one point, a law enforcement official mistakenly identified the gunman as Ryan Lanza. Brett Wilshe, a friend of Ryan Lanza's, said Lanza told him the gunman may have had his identification. Ryan Lanza apparently posted Facebook page updates Friday afternoon that read, "It wasn't me" and "I was at work."
For about two hours late Friday and early Saturday, clergy members and emergency vehicles moved steadily to and from the school. The state medical examiner's office said bodies of the victims would be taken there eventually for autopsies.
A law enforcement source told CBS News that Adam Lanza had three weapons with him during the attack: Two handguns (a Sig Sauer and a Glock), and a Bushmaster .223 assault rifle; spent shells were found in the school. Those three weapons were registered to his mother.
There was also a fourth weapon (a long gun) found in the car he drove to the school.
In addition, the source told CBS News there were "a few" other weapons found at the mother's house. The registry of the weapon in the car and at the house are still be checked. The tracing of all the weapons - such as where and when they were purchased - is still being conducted.
The Associated Press reports a Henry repeating rifle, an Enfield rifle and a shotgun were recovered. It was not clear exactly where those weapons were found.
Adam Lanza and his mother lived in a well-to-do part of prosperous Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City, where neighbors are doctors or hold white-collar positions at companies such as General Electric, Pepsi and IBM.
Lanza's parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records. His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Conn., and works as a tax director for General Electric.
The gunman's aunt Marsha Lanza, of Crystal Lake, Ill., said her nephew was raised by kind, nurturing parents who would not have hesitated to seek mental help for him if he needed it.
"Nancy wasn't one to deny reality," Marsha Lanza said, adding her husband had seen Adam as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary.
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My heart is with the families. May God bless and keep them always.....
TAKEN OUT OF SCHOOL
18 children were taken out of school,
and with 8 adults, makes 26 in the pool.
A lone gunman, now we're being told,
Was all it took to end their lives,?
but I think their lives were sold.
Who is there amongst us, who doesn't clearly see,
The madness all around us that made this come to be.
We need more guns, the lobbyist say,
We could have shot him down,
If every boy and girl today?
were packing in that town.
We need more guns politicians say,
Every man has a right,
To buy and sell assault weapons,
And children , young and bright.
We need more guns, the senate says,
It's not us should make a rule,
To take away those super guns
From every crazy fool.
We need more guns, the Congress says,
It's written in the law.
It's not our fault, these kids lay dying, calling for their Ma.
We need more guns, we know this, from the NRA,
And any politician who doubts them
Ohhhh, dearly he will pay.
The NRA, it owns them,
The politician has been paid,
With re-election money,
And children so afraid.
Guns don't kill, it's people,
These wiseman always tell.
Won't you buy a gun from me,
Before I burn in hell ?
So now I finally get it,
Not guns, but people kill.
Boehner, McConnell,Cantor,
To name a few, if you will.
Ohh, and Mr. President, I can't say your hands are clean.
I've voted for you twice now,
But my eyes see how it's been.
"Now's not the time " you said to us
When Giffords was sadly shot,
Do you think that maybe now's the time
You can start to make a fuss.
My hands are clean, says Cantor,
Mine too, Boehner shouts out.
You need us re-elected,
Is there any doubt ?
We have no blood on our hands,
These children , WE didn't kill.
Why should we do anything,,
Why should we pass a bill.
At the hands of politicians,
It seems we've all been sold
For even less than Jesus
By Judas Iscariot of old.
Oh, and me as I am writing,
Just noticed my bloody hands,
For silence, more than guns,?
Has destroyed so many lands.
And how many times must the canon ball fly,
Before they are forever banned?
I think I'll copyright that line
Before Dylan shows his hand.
Certainly, our forefathers ,
Knew this day would come.
And wanted us to protect
The politicians, not the young.
My thoughts are with the families ,
No parent should lose a child,
Especially from lack of laws
That clearly should be filed.
And to the young survivors,
A day you won't forget,
Forgive me and all adults,
For something that we let.
I'll steal some words from Dylan,
It's me he'll probably sue,
But he has so many,
He won't miss just a few.
"May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others,
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
And may you stay
Forever Young"
And now I'll ask Piers Morgan ,
The bloke's been speaking out,
Can you turn that Limey voice more into a SHOUT?
I feel like Dylan's Mr. Jones,
As I sit chilled to the bone
Hearing all the talking heads,
My God, am I here all alone ?????????
But Iponuall, this guy was not a criminal and the guns came from his main street home. Your argument is full of holes( from bullets of main street home guns).
This " guns don't kill people" mantra is so worn out and cliche. And it was never true. You cannot kill 6 adults and 20 children with a knife, club, or whatever. It's a stupid premise.You ONLY get these numbers of dead with guns.
My condolences to the families of this tragedy. We have been thru this too many times and we must begin to address this. However, do not expect any help from republicans as they are in the pockets of the NRA and other entities hostile to ordinary Americans. Republicans must be voted out to remove their obstruction to making progress on this and other issues. Elections have consequences, and electing republicans to control congress will result in no movement to begin to address this or other issues America so desperately needs to address.
There it is, folks---COMMON SENSE! Rather than "putting gun restrictions on 80 MILLION law-abiding gun-owners in the U.S. because of the actions of "a FEW," this man makes the case for finding a way to keep guns out of the hands of THE MENTALLY ILL! We already have laws that prevent "felons" from buying guns (they usually burglarize homes to get their guns), so WHY NO LAWS preventing "the mentally disturbed" from owning guns????? This is something only the government can answer---WHY have we allowed the mentally ill to own guns, under BOTH Democrat and Republican administrations????
I am a "legal" gun-owner; I am a RESPONSIBLE gun-owner---yet, I, too, wonder WHY there are no laws prohibiting the "mentally ill" from owning guns. I know "due process" has A LOT to do with it---but once declared "mentally disturbed" previous to buying a gun, their names should be put into the national database, preventing them from purchasing a gun! (Yes, many haven't been "professionally declared mentally disturbed," HOWEVER we can do something about those who have---and we can do it NOW!) Under our Constitution, though, those professionally declared "mentally disturbed," DO have the right to go to court and challenge this declaration, because of the "due process clause" of our U.S. Constitution. A Judge would decide, then, whether the person can or cannot legally purchase a fire arm.
And the government CANNOT "punish" 80 MILLION law-abiding gun-owners because of what a few have done---because that's protected by the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Do you SEE how "difficult" it is for ANYONE to "change the gun laws?" Therefore, it has to be done by "restriction" only---and even that cannot go further than what SCOTUS has allowed.
There are laws that here in the UK we keep - no guns, but in the US they do not want to do anything about this, or do they?
Quite possibly it cannot be stopped - this wave of violence, or can it?
It appears to me that the assailant was certainly a demon...
We also are not a nation that "punishes" everyone, for the acts of a few. I can't even imagine living under laws like that---and I'm not "young!"
Since the beginning of time, all societies have had a very small proportion of those who REFUSE to abide "by laws" of any kind. And the U.S. is no different.
Rather than becoming a "reactionary" nation, I'm hoping we all can come to a reasonable response to this tragic event in Newtown, Connecticut. Being "reactionary" every time something like this happens, HELPS NO ONE!