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Teen Hit After Getting Off School Bus

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 22 Desember 2012 | 12.13

Ellen Goldberg, NBC 5 News

A 16-year-old freshman from Shepton High School was hit by a car after getting off of a school bus Friday afternoon.

Student Hit By Car After Getting Off Bus

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A 16-year-old boy was hit by a car after getting off of a school bus Friday afternoon, officials say.

The student, a freshman at Shepton High School, was transported to the hospital but is expected to recover.

Plano police said the bus stopped on Windhaven Parkway east of Midway Road to let some students who live in the neighborhood off the bus. The injured student got off the bus and walked in front of it to cross Windhaven Parkway.

The driver of a black Lexus apparently didn't see the bus's stop sign and flashing lights. The car hit the boy, sending him flying over the front of the car and smashing the windshield.

In order for the school bus to open its doors to let students out, the stop sign on the side of the bus must be extended and the red flashing lights must be on.

Once the investigation is complete, police will determine if any charges will be filed.

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Random Acts of Kindness After Newtown Tragedy

Christine Lee, NBC 5 Irving Reporter

Some people in Irving are honoring the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., with 26 random acts of kindness.

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The Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau is taking action after being inspired by NBC's Ann Curry.

This week Curry sent out a tweet motivating those throughout the country to provide random acts of kindness on behalf of the 26 victims of the massacre in Connecticut.

The Irving CVB staff has been planning out the most meaningful ways to pay tribute to all of the shooting victims in Connecticut.

"We are trying to take the characters of students and match them up with some kind act that we can do," said Diana Pfaff, director of communications at the Irving CVB.

The organization is spending roughly $500 to perform 26 random acts of kindness throughout the city. To do so, they have partnered with local businesses to accomplish their mission.

Marlen Torreblanca got her cat food paid for at PETCO in honor of 6-year-old animal lover Catherine Hubbard.

"I'm sad that she is not here and I'm grateful that y'all are doing this for her," said Torreblanca.

As the random acts continued throughout the day, Pfaff said she's grateful to Ann Curry for motivating her to do something positive for her community.

"Her philosophy is, when you do something good, you feel good. And I think a lot of us have felt not very good because of what has happened up there. Even though it's half a country away, we're still affected here in Irving, Texas," she said.

Pfaff said the Irving CVB's 26th act of kindness will be to send a special delivery to Curry, thanking her for inspiring them. That act will be in honor of 27-year-old Vicki Soto, who was an inspiration to all of her students.

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Man in Custody After Attacking Wife With Hatchet

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 21 Desember 2012 | 12.13

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A man is in custody after he attacked his wife with a hatchet in Keene, police say.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford told NBC 5 that the man assaulted his wife and then chased her around with a hatchet.

The woman survived the attack but was injured.  She was treated by CareFlite personnel at a neighbor's home but was released against the advice of medical professionals.

According to the Keene Police Department, officers were called to the 3000-block of U.S. Highway 67 East for a disturbance with weapons where the victim said she had been assaulted by man later identified as 26-year-old Mario Granados.

The caller said Granados "had been tearing up the walls and other items in their home using two machetes, as well as damaging their vehicle with an ax."

Keene officers, along with officers from the Johnson County Sheriff's Department, arrived at the home where they soon spotted a man running from one home to another.

Believing the man was still armed with a machete, a coordinated entry into the home was made by police.

Once officers were inside, the man was nowhere to be found.

A search of the area was conducted by several law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, a DPS helicopter, constables, sheriff's deputies and local police.

At about 9:30 p.m., the man called 911 and said he wanted to turn himself in.

The man was then located on the 400-block of N. Eastern and taken into custody.

Granados is now being held in the Johnson County jail and has been charged with a Texas Department of Criminal Justice parole warrant and with a misdemeanor warrant out of Arlington. A warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is pending.

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'Tis the Season for Stealing

Randy McIlwain, NBC 5 News

'Tis the season for stealing packages from front porches. As deliveries ramp up before the holidays, police say they receive more reports of thefts outside homes.

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Police departments everywhere say crimes such as burglary rise during the holidays.

Home and car burglaries tend to increase as thieves look to profit from newly purchased gifts.

Burglars also target home deliveries. UPS, FedEx even the U.S. Postal Service all get more complaints of theft after leaving gifts at unattended homes.

Thieves know to follow delivery trucks and wait, which is what happened at Alicia Vaughn's Oak Cliff home.

A woman walked to her porch and stole a box of gifts seconds after UPS delivered the package.

"Video footage showed them driving in front of the house back and forth two times, and as soon as the UPS guy drove off, they came back again drove up and backed into the driveway," Vaughn said.

The theft happened despite Vaughn's sign in her porch window that warns thieves they are under video surveillance.

"I've uploaded the videos on YouTube, onto Facebook," she said. "I notified the news station, and I want these people to know I see you and I know what you've done and you're not going to get away with it."

UPS trains delivery personnel to conceal packages left at home, especially at this time of year.

"Unfortunately theft at this time of year happens every year," UPS spokeswoman Natalie Godwin said. "We always receive these complaints at Christmas."

The volume of deliveries creates opportunity. Thursday is the busiest day of the year for UPS, which will make 28 million deliveries on Thursday alone -- 300 packages per second.

"They have no idea what they have, and it may not mean anything to them," Vaughn said. "They just want to pawn it or make some money, you know. It's meaningless it's an easy crime."

UPS has a program to ensure delivery when customers want it, either by time or adult signature,

Vaughn said she would look into it next time, even though she has been getting gift deliveries the same way for 14 years.

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Some Pilots Oppose AA-US Airway Merger Talks

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 20 Desember 2012 | 12.13

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New pilot opposition has surfaced to a proposed merger of bankrupt American Airlines and US Airways that the pilots' union leaders strongly support.

A blog that claims to represent a wide range of American Airlines pilots accuses union leaders of a "rush to judgment" and "merger mania."

The blog claims the merger could be bad for employees.

Closed-door merger talks are underway now between Allied Pilot Association leaders, other bankruptcy creditors and leaders of both American and US Airways.

"We supported a merger with US Airways while inside bankruptcy," APA spokesman Tom Hoban said. "We believe that's a remedy for American's systemic network and revenue problems and would potentially bring in a new management team with new vision," he said.

The new team would be US Airways executive under the proposals they've made public in the past.

American CEO Tom Horton has said in the past that the company prefers to exit bankruptcy as a standalone company but that all options are being considered.

Aviation attorney Kent Krause said American might have an easier time completing a merger if it is done while a bankruptcy court judge is still in control of the details.

"But certainly the fact that the pilots are meeting with US Airways doesn't bode well that it's going to be a smooth departure from bankruptcy for American unless American's management also gets on board with what US Airways and the pilots are thinking," he said.

Krause said the new pilot opposition suggests there is division in the ranks about a merger.

"I think there's a little discord there that's going to start to bubble up in the end and you'll see that," Krause said.

Hoban said the blog represents a small fraction of APA members.

Wednesday the bankruptcy judge agreed to a company request to eliminate future lump-sum pilot pension payments.

Hoban said the APA did not oppose it.

"The reality is, had the lump sum been preserved, we would have seen a run on retirement plan, and we would have likely seen the plan terminated, and I don't think anybody wants to see that," Hoban said.

Meetings scheduled for the bankruptcy case in January suggest a decision on a possible merger would come soon.

More: APA Pilots Opposing USAir Merger blog

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Christmas Grinch Arrested in Aledo: Police

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Video Shows Thief Stealing Christmas Decorations

Surveillance video shows a woman stealing Christmas decorations from a home in Aledo.

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The woman arrested for stealing Christmas decorations in Parker County has a long criminal record and once served prison time for solicitation to commit murder.

Dana Brock, 43, was arrested Wednesday morning at her boyfriend's home in the 100 block of Rim Rock Road in Aledo.

She sold some of the stolen Christmas decorations to other unsuspecting homeowners, Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said.

On Tuesday, NBC 5, as well as other local media outlets, published a story on the Christmas Grinch along with photos and video obtained from a residential surveillance system that caught the thief in the act.

Several people recognized the woman and called investigators.

According to police, Brock implicated herself in the thefts and was booked into the Parker County Jail on two charges of misdemeanor theft of property.

"I was very shocked if she in fact did it," said Brock's boyfriend Kurt Bienmueller. "Wow."

Bienmueller said he was surprised to learn the holiday lights she recently installed on his house may have been stolen. Deputies removed them Wednesday and hope to return them to their owners.

"She's wonderful, you know, most of the time," Bienmueller said. "And sometimes, I don't know what it is, she's just mean."

Police said they recovered not only stolen Christmas decorations at her home, but other stolen property as well.

Brock has a long criminal history and has served at least three prison sentences.

In August 1994, she was convicted of injuring a child and sentenced to ten years in prison. She was also sentenced to 5 years for credit card abuse, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

In December 2007, she was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of methamphetimine. She served the full sentence, said TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark.

When she was 18 years old, Brock was convicted in Arizona in 1987 of solicitation to commit murder. She served about two years in prison.

Public records also show numerous arrests for theft in cities across North Texas.

Victims of the thefts say they still have their Christmas spirit.

"It hasn't broken our spirit one ounce," said Jon Starnes. "This is just a petty theft and it hasn't killed anything for us."

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Women Suing State Troopers Over Roadside Cavity Searches

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 19 Desember 2012 | 12.13

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Two Irving women are suing two Texas State Troopers and the Director of the Department of Public Safety after they say they were violated, during what they call an unconstitutional search, when they were subjected to a roadside cavity search in full view of the public and without probable cause.

On July 13, while driving along state Highway 161, Angel Dobbs and her niece Ashley Dobbs were stopped for littering by Trooper David Ferrell. In the dashcam video released by the women and their attorney, Ferrell can be heard telling the women they would both be cited for littering for throwing cigarette butts out of the car.

Farrell then returned to his cruiser and, in the video, can be heard calling female Trooper Kelley Helleson to the scene to search both women whom he said were acting weird.

While waiting for Helleson to arrive, Farrell asked Angel Dobbs to step out of the vehicle and began questioning her about marijuana use. In the video, the Trooper is heard telling Dobbs he smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle while asking her several times how much pot was in the car.

Farrell: How much marijuana is in that car? And don't lie to me.
Angel Dobbs: I don't smoke marijuana.
Farrell: OK, how much marijuana is in that car? That's my question.
Dobbs: I swear to God, I don't smoke marijuana.
Farrell: I'm not asking you if you smoke it.
Dobbs: I don't think there is any marijuana in that car.
Farrell: OK, when was the last time somebody smoked marijuana in that car?
Dobbs: I honestly don't know. It's my boyfriend's car. So, I just borrowed it.
Farrell: There's an odor of marijuana coming from the car and that's why I've got to talk to you further about it. Um, and the more upfront you are the better it's going to go for you. So, you're telling me there's no marijuana in that car?
Dobbs: To the best of my knowledge, no there is not.
Farrell: Is there anything hidden on your person?
Dobbs: On my person?
Farrell: On your person, in your shoes, in your underwear?
Dobbs: No. I feel like I'm being treated like a criminal right now. What's going on?
Farrell: I've got a female Trooper up the road, she's going to come down here and we're just going to check a little bit more.

After Trooper Helleson arrived, she can be seen in the dashcam video putting on blue latex gloves to conduct a search of both women. According to the lawsuit, when Angel Dobbs asked about the gloves, Helleson "told her not to worry about that."

In the lawsuit, Dobbs said the Trooper conducted the cavity search on the roadside, illuminated by the police car's headlights, in full view of any passing motorists.

"This has been an eye-opening experience for me. I've never been pulled over, never searched like this. I was totally violated over there a few minutes ago... this is so embarrassing to me," Angel Dobbs said on the video.

"I've never been so humiliated or so violated or felt so molested in my entire life," Angel Dobbs told NBC 5.

Dobbs said she never gave consent for the Trooper to "frisk, pat-down, search, or otherwise touch her" and that she never gave consent for Farrell to search her vehicle -- which he can be seen doing in the dashcam video while the cavity search was under way.

Dobbs said she was powerless to stop it. "What are you going to say? What's going to happen to you if you challenge that authority?" she said.

With the cavity search concluded, Farrell then asked Dobbs about prescription medications found in the car.  Dobbs said they were for her thyroid and for migraines. According to the lawsuit, Dobbs also suffers from a medical condition that was irritated by the search.

Meanwhile, Helleson can then be seen performing the same cavity search on Dobbs' niece, Ashley.

"It's because somebody is a daily smoker in that car. OK, you can attribute it to that," Farrell can be heard saying on the recording.

The lawsuit further alleges that Helleson performed searches on both women, touching both their anus and vaginas, without changing the latex gloves between searches.

"I don't think anybody needs to have to feel, or go through what we went through," Ashley Dobbs said. "It crosses my mind every day. It's humiliating," she said.

After searching the entire car and finding no narcotics, Farrell then administered a DWI test which Dobbs passed, the lawsuit said. The women were then issued warnings for littering and released at the scene.

The lawsuit goes on to say that a bottle of prescribed Hydrocodone was missing from Dobbs' car and purse after the search.  The women returned to the scene of the traffic stop the next day to search for the medication, but it was nowhere to be found.

Their lawyers say the search was illegal and a complaint about it was filed in August but that DPS Texas Rangers who investigated the incident took no action.

"This is outside the constitutional grounds by a mile. It's not even close," attorney Scott Palmer said. "This has to stop. These two need to be stopped. There's no telling how many other people they've done this to and we hope that others come forward."

Attorney Charles Soechting, Jr. said his father was a DPS Trooper and he has great respect for the agency. "But in this instance they have completely failed the citizens of Texas," Soechting said.

Soechting said a records request to DPS produced no policy that allows for cavity  search of any suspect in public.

"What we're dealing with is a Class C Misdemeanor. It does not justify any type of pat down, let alone an invasive search of cavities of women,"" he said.

Calls for comment to the DPS Austin headquarters were not returned Tuesday. 

The women are requesting a trial by jury and are asking for unspecified, compensatory and exemplary damages and interest as well as recovery of attorney's fees and court costs.

The Dallas County District Attorney's office tells NBC 5 it has received the case and will refer it to a grand jury in January.

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DPD Says "No" to Driving-Policy Changes

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 18 Desember 2012 | 12.13

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A search of Dallas police records has revealed a series of car crashes caused by officers using in-car computers while driving. But despite those incidents, Dallas Police Chief David Brown has decided not to implement a written policy to prohibit officers from typing while driving.

Through an open records request, the NBC 5 Investigates team found Dallas police officers in two years caused 168 crashes that the department classified as "preventable." Thirteen of those crashes involved distractions in a police car, while eight of those 13 crashes involved officers typing on computers, according to police records.

Police department videos obtained by NBC 5 Investigates show some officers driving off of roadways and damaging their cars while using computers. In one video, an officer rear ends another driver at a stoplight while typing a message.

In June top Dallas police commander Deputy Chief Rick Watson said the department was "looking at revising" its policy on computer use while driving in hopes of preventing crashes.

A Dallas police spokesman now says those changes are not going to happen.

"We train our officers on the danger of distracted driving," said Lt. Paul Stokes. "We believe if we train officers well, they will use good judgment."

Other police departments in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have created tough new policies to prevent distracted driving crashes since NBC 5 began investigating the issue last summer.

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead decided that training officers to manage distractions was not enough. He has issued a strict new order -- do not type while the patrol car is moving.

"They will not divert their attention directly to typing and getting more information while the vehicle is in motion. We are mandating that they do this when the vehicle is stopped," Halstead said.

Fort Worth police are also considering the use of a new device called Archangel II, which shuts down many of a computer's functions if the car exceeds a certain speed.

Tech Solution Could Prevent Crashes Highlighted by NBC 5 Investigation

Fort Worth police plan to test a new device that limits an officer's ability to use a computer while a police car is moving. A five-month investigation by NBC 5 uncovered dozens of crashes in North Texas involving officers distracted by computers.

FWPD Implements Distracted-Driving Policy

Fort Worth police have developed a distracted-driving policy that tells officers not to type on their dashboard-mounted computers while driving.

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NBC 5 Investigates wanted to ask Brown why he's not going to implement tougher policies or technology to keep officers and other drivers safe, but a department representative said the chief would not answer questions and that there would be no more discussion about the issue.

Because Brown is a public official, NBC 5 Investigates told the department that if the chief would not meet, the team planned to approach him at a public event to ask him about this issue. NBC 5 Investigates did so at a police department graduation.

At first, Brown said he would answer the question, but then accused NBC 5 Investigates of ambushing him, being disrespectful to him and his staff and insulting people in the room by showing up to talk with him at a public event that the media was invited to. He suggested that NBC 5 has treated him differently than previous police chiefs.

"There's a level of respect that I've seen in my 30 years as a police officer here that predecessors of mine hadn't received from your station, and so my big question is, why are you treating my administration differently with the ambush here today at a police graduation?" Brown said.

Brown said if NBC 5 Investigates doesn't like the statements his staff gives, NBC 5 cannot approach or "ambush," him to ask him questions.

"I'm ashamed for your station, and that's my statement, and I'm not going to give an interview. Thank you," Brown said.

Kim Schlau said she believes police departments that don't take a tougher stand on distracted driving are bound to repeat tragedies such as the one that devastated her family.

"Something is going to happen. It's inevitable," Schlau said.

In 2007, her daughters, Jessica and Kelli Uhl, were killed by an Illinois state trooper. The trooper was driving more than 100 mph while responding to a call and admitted he was talking on a cellphone and emailing on his police computer moments before the crash.

"I don't want anyone else to go through what we went through as a family, telling us our children weren't coming home," Schlau said.

After her daughters died, the Illinois state police implemented new policies.

Schlau said she believes too many departments wait until after a tragedy and fail to see the warning signs in minor crashes.

"You bang into, you know, a curb today; it's a tree tomorrow; it's a person the next day. You can't let that pattern go on," Schlau said.

Today, Schlau speaks to police officers all over the country in hopes the memory of her daughters will remind them to avoid distractions. She spoke to Dallas police cadets earlier this year.

This summer, DPD's top driving instructor told NBC 5 Investigates he supports policies that tell officers not to type and drive because most officers follow policy and it could help keep them safe.

But right now, Dallas police still have a gap between what officers are told in training about the dangers and what the written policy says for officers on the street.

Arlington police have just closed a similar gap.

They just issued a new policy that says in part: "The driver of a police vehicle can use the mobile dashboard computer only minimally, such as one-button functions, when the vehicle is moving."

NBC 5 Investigates uncovered 18 crashes involving officers using computers in Arlington in a three-year period of time.

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Amber Alert: Boy Believed in Grave Danger

WOAI-TV, San Antonio Police Department

Jonathan Guillen.

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A statewide Amber Alert has been issued for an 11-month-old boy out of San Antonio who police say was taken by his own father.

San Antonio police are searching for Jonathan Jose Guillen Jr., a Hispanic male who stands 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 25 pounds.  He has brown hair, hazel eyes and was last seen wearing blue jeans and a red hooded sweatshirt.

Police are searching for the boy's father, Jonathan Guillen Sr., who is described as 23 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing approximately 185 lbs.  He has brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a white muscle T-shirt with black or red shorts.

WOAI-TV in San Antonio reports the boy was taken after his father killed his mother's estranged boyfriend last Thursday.

Guillen is believed to be driving a black 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer with Texas plate 7CZTJ.

Texas law enforcement officials believe the child to be in grave or immediate danger.

Anyone who spots Guillen or their car is asked to call 911.

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North Texans Shocked by Conn. School Shooting

Written By Unknown on Senin, 17 Desember 2012 | 12.13

Amanda Guerra, Ray Villeda and Omar Villafranca, NBC 5 News

Frisco residents came together at a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, as high school football fans at a championship game say their thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the survivors.

North Texans Show Support for Newtown

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Even though Texas is thousands of miles away from the tragedy in Connecticut, North Texans still feel the pain.

Dozens of parents, teachers and students attended a candlelight vigil hosted by Liberty High School students in Frisco on Friday night.

"We wanted to make sure the families know they do have support. There is more than just evil in the world. People are good, and this is just one of those things that can come of tragedies," senior Chelsey Chandler said.

"I think that's what's important -- this needs to be a wakeup call," senior Lauren Tonkovich said. "We all need to start caring more about others and stop being so self-centered and caught up in our own time. I just think that could be a huge help in the future."

"I just could not image what these parents are going through or how you catch your next breath, so my prayers are just with those families," parent Shaw Walker said. "We just have to see the good in each other and come together as a community, as a state, as a country. Our differences don't matter when things like this happen."

Parents attending the high school 3A State Championship game at Cowboys Stadium said news of the school shooting shocked them.

Netha Elliott, who has four young children, said she hugged her youngest when she heard the news.

"Just talk to them about how important it is to tell each other you love each other every day, before school and be so thankful that we make it through life every day," she said.

Parent Laurie Lively said she cried when she heard the news.

"It's hard to know what goes through your mind," she said. "It's confusion. The most astounding thing is what goes through your stomach and your heart -- just totally heartbroken."

More: Full Coverage of Newtown School Shooting

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Obama, Newtown Grieve at Vigil

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President Barack Obama had strong, stern words for the country Sunday evening at an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre and their families.

Obama said that the nation isn't doing enough to protect children and that "we will have to change."

"Caring for our children; it's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right," Obama said in front of about 1,000 people in the Newtown High School auditorium. "That is how, as a society, we will be judged. And by that measure, can we truly say as a nation that we're meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? ... The answer is no, we're not doing enough. And we'll have to change."

Besides those mourners who packed the auditorium, an overflow crowd of about 1,500 gathered in the school gymnasium. Some waited for hours in a cold drizzle for a chance to grieve with their fellow community members.

Inside the auditorium were a large number of elementary school-age children with their parents. Some of the children were seen squeezing stuffed animals given out by the American Red Cross.  Faculty, staff and some students from Sandy Hook Elementary wore green and white ribbons -- the school's colors -- with a small angel in the middle.

"Now more than ever we need each other, because we are all in this together," said Matthew Crebbin, senior minister of the Newtown Congregational Church. "We are in this together."

The president met privately before the vigil with families of the victims and with emergency personnel who responded to the shootings.  The White House declined to release details of those meetings.

The grieving in Newtown turned from shock to contemplation Sunday, as it grappled with the news of who is gone and learned it could face weeks before its biggest question — Why? — is answered.

But even as the reality of the town's loss set in and police released a trickle of new information about Friday's school massacre, Newtown remained on edge Sunday — particularly after the evacuation of Mass at a church where eight victims were parishioners. After a threat at St. Rose of Lima Church, the facility was searched, and an all-clear was given.

Sunday also raised the possibility that 20-year-old killer Adam Lanza's horrific rampage through Sandy Hook Elementary School could have been much deadlier. When the 20-year-old shot himself in the head, after killing 20 children, six staff members and his own mother, he left behind hundreds of unused bullets, police said Sunday.

Earlier Sunday, a spokesman for the chief medical examiner announced the final two autopsy results in the Friday shooting, confirming that the killer's mother Nancy Lanza, 52, had been killed by multiple shots to her head and that the gunman had killed himself with a gunshot wound to his head.

Those were just a few more of the grim details released in a case investigators said was among the hardest they had ever handled.

Police warned earlier Sunday that it could be weeks before they have a sense of Adam Lanza's motive, as they continue their grueling investigation of his Friday rampage, and cautioned that a glut of misinformation was being spread on social media websites.

"We're using every single resource in order to paint a complete picture of what happened," Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance told reporters.

Friday's shooting left 20 children and 8 adults, including the gunman's mother and the gunman himself, dead and another two people wounded, Vance confirmed Sunday to NBC Connecticut after a press conference.

Police were interviewing those two survivors, Vance said, as well as many other witnesses to the massacre — many of them children.

"We have a great deal of evidence that we're analyzing," Vance said, declining to describe that evidence, and said police were tracing the histories of the gunman's four weapons "back to when they were on the workbench."

As police sift through evidence and witness accounts of Friday's horrific attack, Newtown was still reeling from Saturday's release of the list of the names of the victims — and wondering whether Sandy Hook Elementary School would ever reopen to children again.

Newtown Police Lt. George Simko said it was "too early" to know if the school might ever reopen, but he added, "I'd find it very difficult to do this."

Memorials to victims grew overnight after police released victims' names Saturday afternoon. On a cold and damp Sunday morning, paper bags lit with candles, one for every victim, flickered beneath the local Christmas tree at one end of downtown Sandy Hook.

At the other end of downtown, figures of angels had been posted on a hill on wooden stakes in memory of the 20 child victims of the shooting.

The official list of victims went up on the Connecticut State Police's website Saturday afternoon, and to see it in black and white, with so many names, and with dates of birth as late as 2006, was a stark reminder of what the town of 28,000 had lost.

The news was accompanied by a methodical account from the state's chief medical examiner of how 12 girls, eight boys and six women were gunned down with chilling efficiency — each hit at least twice — by a young man armed with a .223 Bushmaster rifle inside Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Lanza's father released a statement saying his remaining family was "grieving," "heartbroken" and "struggling to make sense of what has transpired."

"Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured," Peter Lanza wrote. "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why."

As the picture-postcard town in southwestern Connecticut struggled to find its footing, new details emerged about how the attack unfolded.

Lanza apparently shot his way into the school, shattering the front door glass around 9:30 a.m.

Morning announcements were under way, and witnesses remembered hearing screams and gunshots over the PA system.

Others recalled a custodian running down the hall, yelling that there was a gunman.

Teacher Kaitlin Roig described huddling in a bathroom with her 15 first-grade students, trying to assure them that everything would be alright—even though she didn't believe it.

"I'm thinking, 'We're next,'" Roig told ABC News' Diane Sawyer. "And I'm thinking, as a 6-year-old, 7-year-old, what are your thoughts? I'm thinking I almost have to be their parent. So I said to them, I need you to know that I love you all very much, and it's going to be okay, because I thought that was the last thing they were ever going to hear."

The school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were in a meeting with a parent, other staff members and school therapist Diane Day when the shooting started, Day told The Wall Street Journal. While most people dove under desks, Hochsprung and Sherlach rushed to see if they could help and ran toward the shooter, schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said.

Hochsprung, 47, a mother of five who viewed her school as a model of opportunity and safety, and Sherlach, 56, who was planning her retirement, were both killed.

Another teacher pressed her body against the door to keep Lanza out—and was shot twice in the process, Day said.

Kindergarten teacher Janet Vollmer recalled hearing the attack unfold over the intercom. She told CBS 2 she tried keep her 19 students calm by telling them a custodian was probably on the roof retrieving a soccer ball. Then she and her aides drew the shades and locked the classroom door.

A half hour passed, and finally police arrived to escort them out. On the way, she noticed blood on the floor. "I don't know whether any of them saw that — we kept going," Vollmer said.

Another teacher helped students get out through a window, Robinson said, and one hid the students in the kiln room as the shooter made his way through the school.

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Police reportedly had the students hold hands and close their eyes as they were led from the building.

By 11:03 a.m., officers said the school had been evacuated and was secure. They went to the Lanza home and found the gunman's mother dead of a gunshot wound. Despite earlier reports, it did not appear she was a staff member at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Court records showed that Lanza's parents had divorced in 2008 after 17 years of marriage, according to The New York Times, which added that Peter Lanza had moved out of the family's home.

The state's chief medical examiner, H. Wayne Carver, said the case was probably the "worst that I have seen" in his more than 30 years on the job. He performed autopsies of seven of the victims, all of whom had between three and 11 bullet wounds.

Asked whether the victims suffered, Carver said, "not for very long." Asked where on their bodies they were shot, and he said, "all over." Asked how many rounds were fired, he replied, "lots."

The victims were identified by showing relatives pictures of their faces in order to spare them additional grief.

As the investigation continues, state troopers have been assigned to the parents so the information is communicated directly to them, police said.

With the release of the names, portraits of the victims' lives began to take shape.

They included first-grade teacher Victoria Soto, 27, whose family said they were told by investigators that she was killed while trying to protect her first-graders from the gunfire.

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The release of the names was a dreaded but anxiously awaited moment as the town — and the nation — struggled to absorb the second-deadliest school shooting in American history, second only to the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that killed 32.

With so many unanswerable questions, Newtowners sought solace amongst each other, flocking to vigils and religious services and building spontaneous memorials to the victims around town.

In downtown Sandy Hook Saturday night, where Church Hill Road and Washington Avenue intersect, candles for each victim flickered beneath the local Christmas tree, while passersby added flowers, votives and two smaller Christmas trees decorated with children's ornaments and topped by angels. They wrote notes to the victims and their families, promising to pray for them and their town. Some brought their young children and struggled to explain what it all meant.

Across the street, in front of an office building, someone had erected a sign made of Christmas lights that read "FAITH," "HOPE" and "LOVE."

Outside Sandy Hook Wine and Liquor, an American flag on poster board was propped on a bench. Owner Mike Kerler and his wife made cards with each of the victims' names and affixed them to the flag.

Kerler, whose four children attended Sandy Hook Elementary, was glad to see the names released, he said, because it will allow the community to step up in support of them, neighbor to neighbor. The victims included a girl who lived across the street from him, he said.

"I'm still searching for something we can do," Kerler said. "We just want to let them know we're thinking about them and we care."

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North Texans Shocked by Conn. School Shooting

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 16 Desember 2012 | 12.13

Amanda Guerra, Ray Villeda and Omar Villafranca, NBC 5 News

Frisco residents came together at a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, as high school football fans at a championship game say their thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the survivors.

North Texans Show Support for Newtown

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Even though Texas is thousands of miles away from the tragedy in Connecticut, North Texans still feel the pain.

Dozens of parents, teachers and students attended a candlelight vigil hosted by Liberty High School students in Frisco on Friday night.

"We wanted to make sure the families know they do have support. There is more than just evil in the world. People are good, and this is just one of those things that can come of tragedies," senior Chelsey Chandler said.

"I think that's what's important -- this needs to be a wakeup call," senior Lauren Tonkovich said. "We all need to start caring more about others and stop being so self-centered and caught up in our own time. I just think that could be a huge help in the future."

"I just could not image what these parents are going through or how you catch your next breath, so my prayers are just with those families," parent Shaw Walker said. "We just have to see the good in each other and come together as a community, as a state, as a country. Our differences don't matter when things like this happen."

Parents attending the high school 3A State Championship game at Cowboys Stadium said news of the school shooting shocked them.

Netha Elliott, who has four young children, said she hugged her youngest when she heard the news.

"Just talk to them about how important it is to tell each other you love each other every day, before school and be so thankful that we make it through life every day," she said.

Parent Laurie Lively said she cried when she heard the news.

"It's hard to know what goes through your mind," she said. "It's confusion. The most astounding thing is what goes through your stomach and your heart -- just totally heartbroken."

More: Full Coverage of Newtown School Shooting

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Victims' Names, Grim Details

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The shooter who rampaged through Sandy Hook Elementary School killed his victims with a rifle, authorities said Saturday, repeatly wounding kindergartners, first-graders and faculty mulitple times and leaving no chance for life.

Painting a grim scene, Connecticut;'s chief medical examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver said this is probably the "worst that I have seen" in his nearly 30 years as a medical examiner. He performed seven of the autopsies himself, and said all victims he examined had 3-11 bullet wounds.

Asked whether the victims suffered, Carver said, "Not for very long."

Click here to view the full list of victims' names.

As the names of the 12 girls, eight boys and six adult women were made public, tender portraits of the tiny children began to emerge, as did tales of heroism by committed educators who tried to protect their charges.

But the reasons behind Adam Lanza's rampage were even less clear, as authorities said he had no obvious recent tie to the school.

His father spoke for the first time about the shooting, which also left Lanza's mother dead in her Newtown home.

"Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured," wrote Peter Lanza, the father of gunman Adam Lanza. It was the first public statement made by a close family member of Lanza since his shooting rampage devastated the quiet New England town. Adam Lanza was found dead at the scene.

"We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can," the statement said. "We too are asking why."

Meanwhile, the White House announced that President Obama will travel to Newtown Sunday to meet with victims' families, thank first responders and to speak at an interfaith vigil at 7 p.m. ET.

The update came hours after authorities said they had uncovered "very good evidence" that might help explain gunman Adam Lanza's motive, which still remained very much a mystery.

With the theory that Lanza's mother had been a teacher at the school discounted by officials, those who had known him as a young, awkward teen-ager could think of nothing that would have predicted such inexplicable rage.

"We've been doing everything we need to do to peel back the onion, layer by layer, and get more information," state police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance said Saturday.

Court records showed that Lanza's parents had divorced in 2008 after 17 years of marriage, according to The New York Times, which added that Peter Lanza had moved out of the family's home.

Vance declined to elaborate on the evidence that investigators have uncovered. He said that the shooter had "forced his way" into the Newtown school.

Gov. Dannel Malloy addressed the state about the tragedy on Saturday.

"Those educators, and those innocent little boys and girls were taken from their families far too soon.  Let us all hope and pray those children are now in a place where that innocence will forever be protected," Malloy said.

All the victims' bodies were removed from from the school overnight and the families identified them through photos, the medical examiner said on Saturday.

Families had only seen pictures of their children's facial features. "It's easier on the families when you do that," Carver said.

One of those victims is school principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47. She was married and had five children of her own.

School psychologist Mary Sherlach was also killed. Sherlach is survived by her husband of 31 years, Bill, and her 25- and 28-year-old daughters.

The release of the names was a dreaded but anxiously awaited moment as the town -- and the nation -- struggles to accept such an unimaginable crime.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Newtown —a town of 28,000 people — Friday night to remember the students and teachers lost in the tragedy. So many people had shown up for a vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church that dozens, unable to get in, watched the service through open windows and doorways.

"I think about these children … and I know we have 20 new saints, 20 new angels," Monsignor Robert Weiss told the standing-room-only crowd. "But that doesn't take away the pain. It doesn't take away the hurt. But it does bring us closer together."

Earlier in the morning, 20-year-old Adam Lanza (pictured below) had stormed into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire. Newtown Police Lt. George Sinko said on NBC's "Today" show it appeared Lanza shot his way into the school by shattering glass by the front door.

By the time his shooting rampage had ended, 20 small children and six adults had been killed. He, too, was found dead at the scene. A woman believed to be his mother, Nancy Lanza, was also found shot dead in a Newtown home. Despite earlier reports, it did not appear she was a staff member at Sandy Hook Elementary. Newtown superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson told told NBC Connecticut that there was no record of Nancy Lanza in their database. She may have been a substitute teacher, but it was unclear.

Investigators spent hours questioning Lanza's 24-year-old brother Ryan, who told them that Adam had a history of mental health issues and that they had not spoken in two years, NBC News reported.

It was the second-deadliest school shooting in American history, second only to the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that killed 32.

President Obama, addressing the nation for the second time, said Saturday that in his weekly radio and Internet address that "every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt."

On Friday, Obama teared up as he talked about the young victims.

"They had their entire lives ahead of them. Birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own," he said at a press conference. "So our hearts are broken for them today."

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"We wanted to give our support to this town," Mantone said while she and her daughters stood in a circle, cradling lit candles outside the church. "I hope people would help our town if God forbid something happened to us."

As the investigation continues, officers have been assigned to the parents so the information is communicated directly to them, according to state police.

Major crime detectives are still working the scene and their investigation won't be completed for another day and a half to two days, Lt. Vance said Saturday.

"It's going to be a long, painstaking process," he said.

 

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