Newtown (US): Most children returned to school for the first time today in Newtown, as the toll of funerals for the 26 dead continued.
At least one funeral was planned for one of the 20 young students 6-year-old Jessica Rekos as well as several wakes, including one for teacher Victoria Soto, who has been praised as a hero for sacrificing herself to save several students in one of the worst mass shootings in US history.
Security remained high, and the small, affluent Connecticut community was still on edge.
Across the United States, the conversation about what to do to prevent more gun massacres continued.
And the mystery of why a smart but severely withdrawn 20-year-old, Adam Lanza, shot his mother to death in bed Friday before rampaging through a school, killing 20 children ages 6 and 7, was as deep as ever.
The first two children, including the youngest victim, were buried yesterday, the first of a long, almost unbearable procession of funerals as the rest of the country prepared for the Christmas holidays.
Classes resumed today for Newtown schools except those at Sandy Hook, where the school is located and will remain closed indefinitely.
"It`s the right thing to do. You have to send your kids back. But at the same time I`m worried," said Dan Capodicci, whose 10-year-old daughter attends another local school. "We need to get back to normal."
Investigators say Lanza had no ties to the school he attacked, and they have found no letters or diaries that could explain why he targeted it. He forced into the school Friday morning, wearing all black, and is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, a civilian version of the military`s M-16. Versions of the AR-15 were outlawed in the US under the 1994 assault weapons ban, but the law expired in 2004.
Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said both Lanza and his mother fired at shooting ranges and visited ranges together.
The outlines of a national debate on gun control took shape. At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said curbing gun violence is a complex problem that will require a "comprehensive solution." He did not offer specific proposals or a timeline.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, perhaps the most outspoken advocate for gun control in US politics, again pressed Obama and Congress to toughen gun laws and tighten enforcement.
"If this doesn`t do it," he asked, "what is going to?"
PTI
