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Reports: 27 dead - 18 children - in CT elementary school shooting

At least 27 people have been killed, including 18 children, in a shooting at an elementary school Friday, according to multiple news outlets.

NEWTOWN, CT (RNN) - At least 27 people have been killed, including 18 children, in a shooting at an elementary school Friday, according to multiple news outlets.

The Associated Press reported the death total based on an official with knowledge of the attack.

A parent who was at the school told a CNN producer that the principal, vice principal and school psychologist left the office right after shots rang out. The vice principal had been shot in the foot or leg and crawled back into the office.

The parent said she saw the other two lying in the hall, along with children, "in pools of blood," according to the producer.

Authorities said the suspected gunman was dead and his body was in a kindergarten classroom. At least some of the shooting took place inside the classroom.

According to WFSB, authorities received word of the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary around 9:41 a.m. ET. Reporters on the scene observed a man in camouflage gear being taken away from the staging area. He screamed to people that he was not involved in the shooting.

Sources told WFSB that Yale-New Haven Hospital had activated an emergency triage unit, which responds to mass casualty incidents.

News footage from the scene showed someone being carried away by ambulance crews on a gurney. SWAT and K-9 units remain on the scene, and a person was reportedly carried away in handcuffs.

There are conflicting reports on whether the shooting took place in the school's main office or a kindergarten classroom.

Two 9mm handguns were recovered at the scene, but authorities believe they may have been carried by the same person.

Danbury Hospital had at least three people admitted as a result of the incident, including a teacher who got shot in the foot, CNN stated. WFSB said officials at Bridgeport Hospital have confirmed that they have one woman who was shot, and she is in stable condition.

The school superintendent's office announced all campuses in the district had been locked down, and kindergarten classes at the school were canceled.

The Newtown Public school system operates seven schools. There are four elementary schools, including Sandy Hook, that serve grades K to 4, one intermediate school serving grades 5 to 6, one middle school serving grades 7 to 8 and Newtown High School serving grades 9 to 12.

Newtown is a town of nearly 28,000 located in Fairfield County, CT, about 48 miles southwest of Hartford. Sandy Hook Elementary has a student enrollment of 672, according to the Connecticut State Board of Education website.

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