(TheBlaze/AP) -- Since Friday, a litany of facts have come out surrounding the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As is often the case, the initial details were murky and, as a result, the media originally reported numerous details incorrectly.
It can often be difficult to cut through the chaos that typically accompanies events like what unfolded in Newtown. Considering the plethora of details available, discerning the key facts is important. Below, read what is currently known about the tragic attack that left 28 individuals dead, including 20 children:
THE INVESTIGATION: Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza, was carrying an arsenal of hundreds of rounds of deadly ammunition - enough to kill nearly every student in the school if given enough time, authorities said, raising the specter the bloodbath could have been far worse. Lanza shot himself in the head when he heard police approaching the classroom where he was gunning down helpless children.
This 2005 photo provided by neighbor Barbara Frey and verified by Richard Novia, shows Adam Lanza. Authorities have identified Lanza as the gunman who killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, inside an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 people, including 20 children, before killing himself. Novia was the school district's former head of security and he advised the school technology club that Adam and his older brother belonged to. Credit: AP
He had multiple, high-capacity clips each capable of holding 30 bullets, and the chief medical examiner said the ammunition was the type designed to break up inside a victim's body and inflict the maximum amount of damage, tearing apart bone and tissue.
The gunman shot his mother four times in the head before going to the school and gunning down 26 victims there.
THE VICTIMS: All the victims at the school were shot multiple times with a high-power rifle, some of them up close. All six adults were women. Of the 20 children, eight were boys and 12 were girls. All the children were 6 or 7 years old.
This July 2010 photo provided by the Newtown Bee shows Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn. Credit: AP
Among the dead were popular principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, who rushed toward Lanza in an attempt to stop him and paid with their lives; Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher who died while trying to hide her pupils; 30-year-old Lauren Rousseau, a teacher thrilled to have been hired this year, and Ana Marquez-Greene, a 6-year-old girl who had just moved to Newtown from Canada.
THE GUNMAN: Lanza was described as a bright but painfully awkward student who seemed to have no close friends. In high school, he was active in the technology club. The club adviser remembered that he had "some disabilities" and seemed not to feel pain like the other students. That meant Lanza required special supervision when using soldering tools, for instance. He also had an occasional "episode" in which he seemed to withdraw completely from his surroundings, the adviser said.
People mourn as they listen to U.S. President Barack Obama give a speech at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Connecticut. Credit: Getty Images
Authorities said Lanza had no criminal history, and it was unclear whether he had a job. On Monday, police claimed that the shooter had no connection to the school, based on accounts from education officials.
THE SCENE: Families sought to comfort each other during Sunday church services and vigils devoted to impossible questions like that of a 6-year-old girl who asked her mother: "The little children, are they with the angels?"
Many of Newtown's 27,000 people wondered whether life could ever return to normal, and, as the workweek was set to begin, parents pondered whether to send their children back to school. Signs around town read, "Hug a teacher today," "Please pray for Newtown" and "Love will get us through."
People gather at a memorial for victims near the school on the first Sunday following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. U.S. President Barack Obama visited the grief stricken town today. Credit: Getty Images
THE SCHOOL: Currently, Sandy Hook's future hangs in the balance. Newtown officials couldn't say whether Sandy Hook Elementary, where authorities said all the victims were shot at least twice, would ever reopen. State police Lt. Paul Vance said Monday at a news conference that it could be months before police turn the school back over to the district.
Monday classes were canceled and Newtown's other schools were to reopen Tuesday. The district was making plans to send surviving Sandy Hook students to a former school building in a neighboring town, but they didn't say when that would happen.
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, authorities announced that furniture would be moved out of the school and transported to a new location where students will continue their education. Moving trucks were already observed at the school on Monday.
THE PARENTS: One of the parents who lost a child in the attack spoke publicly about his loss.
Robbie Parker fought back tears and struggled to catch his breath as he described his 6-year-old daughter, Emilie, as a little girl who loved to draw. He also reserved surprisingly kind words for the gunman, saying he was not mad and offering sympathy for the gunman's family.
To the man's family, he said, "I can't imagine how hard this experience must be for you."
(L to R) Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Ian Fuchs, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand hold candles at a memorial for victims on the first Sunday following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. U.S. President Barack Obama visited the grief stricken town today. Credit: Getty Images
THE GUNS: Federal authorities visited local gun ranges but found no evidence that the gunman trained for the attack or was an active member of the recreational gun community.
Investigators also have interviewed gun dealers trying to determine whether there was any training or other behavior that precipitated the attack.
People pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 16, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on December 14, 2012 after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
THE HISTORY: The Newtown massacre is the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history and one of the deadliest mass shootings around the world. A gunman at Virginia Tech University killed 33, including himself, in 2007. Only Virginia Tech and the mass killings of 77 in Norway last year had greater death tolls across the world over the past 20 years.
This story has been updated.
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