'Several fatalities' in US school shooting

There have been fatalities and at least three people injured after a shooting at a primary school in the US state of Connecticut, officials say.

The shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, which is in the western part of Connecticut, on Friday morning. The school had been evacuated and police had secured the scene, reported Al Jazeera's Cath Turner from the scene.

Lieutenant Paul Vance, spokesperson for the state police, confirmed that there had been "several fatalities", but would not confirm a figure, saying only that students and staff were among those killed. The gunman, said to be in his 20s, was also deceased, he said.
Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from Washington DC.