The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza

The gunman who massacred 26 children and adults at a US school forced his way in, police said yesterday, as a stunned world asked how a 20-year-old described as brilliant but remote would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims, some as young as 5.

Investigators were trying to learn more about the gunman, Adam Lanza, who witnesses said didn't say a word as he burst into a classroom, shooting, and later killed himself.

The bodies of victims were still inside the school for some time yesterday morning, and authorities appeared poised to start releasing their names.

Police shed no light on the motive for the mass shooting, one of the deadliest in US history, and among school attacks was second only to the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, which left 33 people dead.

Reaction was swift and emotional in Newtown, a picturesque New England community of 27,000 people, as well as across the country and around the world.

In tight-knit Newtown on Friday night, hundreds of people packed St Rose of Lima church and stood outside in a vigil for the 28 dead - 20 children and six adults at the school, the gunman's mother at home, and the gunman himself, who committed suicide. People held hands, lit candles and sang "Silent Night."

"These 20 children were just beautiful, beautiful children," Monsignor Robert Weiss said. "These 20 children lit up this community better than all these Christmas lights we have. ... There are a lot brighter stars up there tonight because of these kids."

Lanza is believed to have suffered from a personality disorder and lived with his mother, said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation.

Lanza shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, drove to the school in her car with at least three guns, including a high-powered rifle that he apparently left in the back of the vehicle, and shot up two classrooms around 9:30am on Friday, law enforcement officials said.

A custodian ran through the halls, warning of a gunman, and someone switched on the intercom, perhaps saving many lives by letting them hear the chaos in the school office, a teacher said. Teachers locked their doors and ordered children to huddle in a corner or hide in closets as shots echoed through the building.

The well-liked principal, Dawn Hochsprung, was believed to be among the dead.

A law enforcement official said investigators believe Lanza attended the school several years ago but appeared to have no recent connection to it.

At least one parent said Lanza's mother was a substitute teacher there. But her name did not appear on a staff list.

Lanza's older brother, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, New Jersey, was questioned, but a law enforcement official said he was not believed to have had a role in the rampage.

At one point, a law enforcement official mistakenly identified the gunman as Ryan Lanza.

For about two hours late Friday and early yesterday, clergy members and emergency vehicles moved steadily to and from the school. The state medical examiner's office said bodies of the victims would be taken there eventually for autopsies.

At least three guns were found a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, inside the school, and a 223-caliber rifle in the back of a car, authorities said. A law enforcement official said some of the guns used in the attack may have belonged to Lanza's family.

Adam Lanza and his mother lived in a well-to-do part of Newtown, about 95 kilometers northeast of New York City.

Lanza's parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records. His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Connecticut, and works as a tax director for General Electric.

Catherine Urso, of Newtown, said her college-age son knew the killer and remembered him for his alternative style.

"He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths," she said.

Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High in 2009 and belonged to the same school technology club as Adam Lanza, said he was generally a happy person but that he hadn't seen him in a few years.

"We would hang out, and he was a good kid. He was smart," Milas said. "He was probably one of the smartest kids I know. He was probably a genius."

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