Conn. shooter's relatives express 'heartfelt sorrow'

KINGSTON, N.H. (AP) — Relatives of a Connecticut woman fatally shot by her son before he killed 26 people at a school then killed himself say in a statement that they share the grief of the Newtown community and the nation.

A sheriff in New Hampshire, where Nancy Lanza once lived, read the statement today, saying the family is trying to understand "the tremendous loss."

Rockingham County Sheriff Michael Downing said Lanza's brother James Champion, a retired police captain in Kingston, N.H., and other relatives express their "heartfelt sorrow" and "the whole family is traumatized by this event."

Champion would not discuss what might have triggered his nephew to go on the shooting spree.

Nancy Lanza's family described her as kind, loving and considerate. She was once a stockbroker for John Hancock in Boston.