European Leaders 'Deeply Saddened' By Newtown Killings

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/germany-s-merkel-deeply-saddened-by-killings-in-newtown-a-873139.html


A moment of grief: A family embraces in grief near the school. Friday's shooting has put the entire country in a state of shock.

Friday's massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, the second-deadliest shooting event in United States history, has sent shock waves well beyond the country's borders. During his shooting spree, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 27 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School before turning the gun on himself. Most of the victims of the mass shooting, including 20 children, mostly kindergartners, and six school employees, were found in two classrooms. The shooter also killed his mother.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel responded to the slayings by saying, "The news from Newtown deeply saddens me. Once again we stand aghast at a deed that cannot be comprehended. The thought of the murdered pupils and teachers makes my heart grow heavy. My deepest sympathy goes out to the relatives. I wish them strength and consolation and hope that they will not be alone in their pain."
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI conveyed "his heartfelt grief and assurance of his closeness in prayer to the victims and their families, and to all those affected by the shocking event."

Meanwhile, in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement: "I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear about today's horrific shooting. My thoughts are with the injured and those who have lost loved ones. It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."