All Things Considered on WLRN

The shooting in Newtown, Conn., is likely to have an impact on many children, even those nowhere near the state. Host Guy Raz is joined by NPR's Jon Hamilton to talk about how parents, teachers and others who spend time with kids should prepare to discuss the event.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz. Yesterday on the program, we spoke with pastor and poet Eugene Peterson. He's retired now, but he was the pastor at Christ Our King Presbyterian Church - near Baltimore - for 30 years. Back in the 1990s, he began to translate the Bible into modern-day English. It became the best-selling book called "The Message." It's a book millions of Christians and non-Christians alike, have come to rely on.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz. Tomorrow in Fairfield, Connecticut, 6-year-old Noah Pozner will be laid to rest. Relatives say his twin sister, Arielle, was his best friend. Noah and Arielle were in different first-grade classes. She survived the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

This evening in Newtown, Connecticut, Robbie Parker, the father of 6-year-old Emilie Parker who was killed in yesterday's shooting spoke publicly about the tragedy.

ROBBIE PARKER: It's a horrific tragedy. And we want everybody to know that our hearts and our prayers go out to them. This includes the family of the shooter. I can imagine how hard this experience must be for you, and I want you to know that our family and our love and our support goes out to you as well.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

We're going to turn to other news for a moment and a story out of Egypt. Voters in that country began to turn out for the first phase of a controversial constitutional amendment. Opponents of that Islamist back draft constitution have been mounting protests for weeks. Some of those clashes turned deadly. Reporter Merrit Kennedy is in Alexandria, and she sent this report.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

And as police begin to piece together a picture of the gunman, Adam Lanza, they will also be looking at possible motives. Here in the studio with me is NPR science correspondent Shankar Vedantam.

And, Shankar, you have reported in the past about building profiles of these kinds of assailants. I mean, usually, we're talking about men. We're talking about often about white men. Does what we know about Lanza fit that profile of a mass shooter?

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz. Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, was often asked by parents how to explain death to children. And so on his program one day, he decided to try and deal with that challenge. And here's how he started:

FRED ROGERS: When I was very young, I had a dog that I loved very much. Her name was Mitzi. And she got to be old, and she died. I was very sad when she died, because she and I were good pals. And when she died, I cried.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

According to federal law enforcement sources, Adam Lanza, the gunman, one of his victims, was his own mother, which has led to much speculation about the Lanza family and relations within it. Well, Adam Lanza's parents were divorced. And reporter Maggie Gordon of the Stamford Advocate is now going to tell us about Mr. Lanza's father. Where did you come across him?

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

We begin this hour with the tragedy in Connecticut. This morning, around nine o'clock, a young man walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and began shooting. Federal law enforcement officials now tell NPR the gunman was 20-year-old Adam Lanza of Newtown.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

We begin this hour with tragedy in Connecticut. This morning, around nine o'clock, a gunman walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He was armed and, at some point, began shooting.

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Many residents of Newtown are gathered this evening at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church for a prayer vigil. NPR's Quil Lawrence is outside the church and he joins us now. And, Quil, what's going on inside the church this evening?

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And joining us now from Newtown, Connecticut is Craig LeMoult of member station WSHU. And, Craig, what's the latest on the investigation?

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And we turn now to NPR's Robert Smith. He has been outside the home of Adam Lanza's mother on the outskirts of Newtown, Connecticut. And, Robert, has the home also been a crime scene today?

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

We end this hour with a recap of our main story today: the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. A total of 28 people, including the gunman, are confirmed dead. Federal law enforcement officials tell NPR that the shooter was Adam Lanza, 20 years old of Newtown. They say he walked into Sandy Hook Elementary and opened fire, killing six adults and 20 children. Lanza also died at the school.

State police say another adult was killed before the rampage at the Lanza family home in Newtown.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

We end this hour with an update on the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Here's what we know. In total, 28 people are confirmed dead, including the gunman. And NPR has confirmed his identity. He was Adam Lanza, 20 years old. That's according to federal law enforcement officials. Earlier today, his brother Ryan was taken in for questioning. Ryan Lanza is not believed to be involved in the shootings.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Audie Cornish talks to Craig Lemoult about the latest in the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The world mourned the death this week of Indian maestro Ravi Shankar, whose name became synonymous with the sitar. Tributes eulogized Shankar as the great connector of the East and West who'd hobnobbed with The Beatles and collaborated with violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin. Less has been said about the roots of the music he spent a lifetime perfecting and innovating.

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