Shooting Victims Named; Obama Travels to Connecticut

 NEW YORK — U.S. President Barack Obama travels on Sunday to Newtown, Connecticut, in an effort to comfort a shattered town reeling from a school shooting that left 20 young children and six adults dead.

A White House statement released Saturday said Obama will meet with the families of those who lost loved ones at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and also thank first responders. The statement said the president will speak at an interfaith vigil for families of the victims and families from the school.

The announcement came just hours after Connecticut state police identified the victims and provided more information Saturday about their investigation¹ into a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

The 20 children killed Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut were first-graders, most of them six years old, according to the state medical examiner. Six women at the school, including the principal and several teachers, also were killed as they attempted to shield children after 20-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into the building and began firing.

Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II said he believed the victims had each been shot more than once by a long rifle.  He said the wounds were devastating².

“My sensibilities may not be the average man, but this probably is the worst I have seen and the worst I know any of my colleagues have seen,” he said.

Lanza killed himself at the scene. Earlier, he had allegedly shot to death his mother, Nancy Lanza, at their home in the small, wealthy community about 120 kilometers from New York. 

Connecticut police said several assault-style guns were found at the scene. All were registered legally to Nancy Lanza, reportedly a gun enthusiast³ who also owned several other weapons.

Police also said their investigation was turning up evidence, which they declined to detail, as to why Lanza targeted the school.  His older brother reportedly told police that Lanza had a form of autism or personality disorder⁴. The autopsies⁵ on Lanza and his mother have not yet been completed.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

4 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

5 autopsies   

n.尸体解剖( autopsy的名词复数 )；验尸；现场验证；实地观察

参考例句：

• Autopsies cannot be performed and thus no recent histological examinations have been reported. 不能进行尸体解剖，因此没有新近的组织学检查的报道。 来自辞典例句
• I told you to supervise autopsies, not to set up a lot of fancy rules. 我叫你监督解剖室，不是去制定一些空想的规定。 来自辞典例句