UPDATE: Official: 27 dead in Conn. school shooting

UPDATE: Official: 27 dead in Conn. school shooting

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) -- A gunman opened fire inside a Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked Friday, killing at least 26 people, including 18 children, by blasting his way through the building as young students cowered helplessly in classrooms while their teachers and classmates were shot.

The attack, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, appeared to be the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.

The death toll - 26 victims plus the gunman - was given to The Associated Press by an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.