Gunman Kills 26 at Elementary School (Dec. 14): Adam Lanza, age 20, forces his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut, and kills 26 people. The victims include 20 children between the ages of six and seven. Then Lanza takes his own life while still inside the school. Before going to the school, Lanza shoots and kills his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the home they shared. (Dec. 16): President Obama travels to Newtown. In a speech at the memorial service he says, "No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction."