Hundreds of people attended a mass at a church in Newtown, Connecticut last night, to pay tribute to the victims of the elementary school massacre in which at least 27 people died.
Twenty of them were children, between five and ten years old.
The church was so packed that dozens of people crowded outside the St. Rose of Lima Catholic church -- less than two kilometres from the Sandy Hook elementary school where the tragedy took place.
Some lit candles and others joined hands in a large circle and sang Christmas songs.
Gun control activists gathered at the White House at dusk yesterday to demand tougher firearms laws.
They rallied on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence was among the groups participating.
Demonstrators sang and held signs during a solemn, candlelight vigil.
President Barack Obama has ordered that US flags at the White House, official buildings and at military facilities fly at half mast, to honor the victims.
World leaders also expressed shock and horror at the incident.
