(KNZA/AP)--Members of the Kansas Delegation in Washington D.C. are offering words of condolences to those affected by the mass killing at a Connecticut elementary school.  

United States Senator Jerry Moran weighed in, with the Kansas Republican saying, on his Facebook wall, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news today from Newton, Connecticut. As a parent, nothing in life is more important than the safety of our children, and today’s event is our worst nightmare. My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones in this unspeakable tragedy. Robba and I ask that all Kansans keep the families and friends of the victims in their thoughts and prayers.” 

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins also commented, with the Kansas Republican saying on her Facebook page, “My thoughts and prayers go out to the Newtown community, the victims, and the families affected by the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut this morning.”

The Associated Press is reporting that an official with knowledge of the shooting  says 27 people are dead, including 18 children.

State police aren't confirming those numbers. Lt. Paul Vance says only that staff and students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown are among the victims. He says the shooter was dead in the school.

Vance says Newtown police called state police around 9:40 a.m. A SWAT team was among the throngs of police to respond to the school, about 60 miles northeast of New York City.

Photos from the scene showed young students - some crying, others looking visibly frightened - being escorted by adults through a parking lot in a line, hands on each other's shoulders.

Family members are relaying what children told them about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Stephen Delgiadice says his 8-year-old daughter heard two big bangs and teachers told her to get in a corner. His daughter is fine.

He says the shooting is alarming because his family always considered Newtown to be the safest place in America.

Seventeen-year-old Mergim Bajraliu heard the gunshots echo from his home and raced to check on his 9-year-old sister at the school. He says his sister heard a scream come over the intercom at one point. And he says teachers were shaking and crying as they came out of the building.

A law enforcement official says the attacker in the Connecticut school shootings is a 20-year-old man with ties to the school.

The official said that a gun used in the attacks is a .223-caliber rifle. The official also said that New Jersey state police are searching a location in that state in connection with the shootings, said by an official in Connecticut to have left 27 dead, including 18 children.

The official in Washington spoke on the condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak on the record about the developing criminal investigation.