Connecticut school massacre: British boy Dylan Hockley, 6, among victims In a recent interview with the local newspaper the Newtown Bee, Mrs Hockley, spoke poignantly about the joy of spending time with her children. Having run her own marketing consultancy in the UK she said she was now making the most of life as a full-time mother. Asked when she was most happy, she said: "I'm a pretty positive person all the time. Being with my children is much more rewarding than I thought it would be, coming from a big career background. Spending time with my children gives me a lot of joy. Describing Newtown, she added: "This was the place, when we were driving around, where we felt happy and comfortable. The schools here have been amazing, and the people in my neighbourhood are incredible. Newtown is a wonderful place to live and we're looking forward to being here a long, long time. President Obama will today travel to Newtown to attend a memorial service for the victims. All the child victims of the shooting were age six or seven. They included eight boys and 12 girls. Every victim was shot more than once and some of the children had as many as 11 bullet wounds. Only one person who was shot survived. A school spokesman said many more children would have died if not for the prompt actions of their teachers. One member of staff switched on the school public address system so the sounds of shouting and gunfire would alert other teachers to the unfolding horror. The noise prompted staff to begin an emergency "lockdown" procedure by moving children into secure areas. It is understood all the children killed were in just two classrooms, both next to the main entrance to the school. "These were helpless little children," said Neil Heslin, whose six-year-old son Jesse was killed. The question is why - and I guess we will never know. It was a cowardly thing he did to the victims and a cowardly thing he did to himself. The way he died - by killing himself like that - was too good. It was just a cowardly way. Lanza's mother, Nancy, 52, who was among his victims, is said to have been a "big, big gun fan" and taught her son how to shoot, it emerged yesterday. "She said she would often go target shooting with her kids," Dan Holmes, owner of the landscaping firm Holmes Fine Gardens, told Reuters. He recalled that she once showed him a 'high-end rifle' that she had purchased. "She was very proud of it," he told the New York Daily News. She loved her guns. Lanza was armed with a Sig Sauer and a Glock handguns, typically capable of firing 15 rounds and 17 rounds each. He also had a Bushmaster assault rifle, capable of firing 30 rounds before needing reloading. A fourth gun was said to have been found in his mother's car. In all, more than 100 shell casings were found. A statement was issued on behalf of the family by Nancy Lanza's brother, a police officer in Kingston, New Hampshire. James Champion said they "share the grief of a community and a nation as we struggle to comprehend the tremendous loss that we all share." Our hope and prayers are with those who share in this sense of loss: the families, teachers, staff and the students of Sandy Brook elementary school, the first responders, and to all of us touched by this tragedy. On behalf of Nancy's mother and siblings we reach out to the community of Newtown and express our heartfelt sorrow for the incomprehensible and profound loss of innocence that has affected so many. Issuing a seperate statement, the chief of police in Kingston, Donald Briggs, said that Nancy Lanza was a "very, very kind, considerate, loving young lady." The heroism of teachers at the school, who tried to save their young pupils during the rampage, have also emerged. One teacher died using her body as a human shield to protect her students while the head teacher was shot dead as she lunged at the killer. Other staff barricaded children in classrooms and store cupboards as Lanza stalked the school. Police were understood to be investigating a claim that Lanza had argued with four school staff members the day before the shooting and that three were murdered the next day. The fourth was being interviewed by police as officers searched for a motive. At a press conference, police said they now had "some very good evidence" as to why Lanza embarked on his rampage but refused to divulge what that was. The evidence was found at the killer's home and at the school, said Connecticut state police lieutenant Paul Vance, implying that Lanza had left some form of note or recording at both addresses. Among the dead who were identified was Lauren Rousseau, 30, a teacher who lived in Newtown with her mother, Teresa. Her mother said her daughter had started a permanent job at the school this autumn. "It was the best year of her life," she said. Among the children was Ana Marquez-Greene, six. Her father Jimmy, a jazz saxophonist, said: "As much as she's needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me Ana beat us all to paradise. I love you, sweetie girl. Lanza was described by neighbours and former classmates yesterday as a highly intelligent loner with a possible personality disorder. Others called him a "geek" and a "nerd" who lived alone with his mother. Lanza's parents divorced three years ago. Lanza shot his mother Nancy, 52, in the face at their home and then drove to Sandy Hook school in her car. Police said yesterday that Lanza, dressed all in black, walked up to the school, armed with three weapons - an assault rifle and two handguns - and forced his way in, possibly by smashing a window. In the process, he bypassed the school's security door system. A chilling recording of radio conversations between Newtown police and state police, released on the internet, shows the school first raising the alarm at 9.35am local time on Friday. The police controller states at 9.36am: "The front glass has been broken. We're unsure why. A minute later, the voice states: "All units, the individual I have on the phone is continuing to hear what he believes to be gunfire." Although Lanza's motive was unknown last night, a relative said that his mother had at one time worked as a "classroom aide" at the school. The relative, the killer's aunt, Marsha Lanza, said that Mrs Lanza had been unhappy with the local school system's "plans for her son" and had decided to teach him at home. The killings have once again pushed America's lax gun laws to the top of the political agenda. It was claimed last night that he had even tried to bolster his arsenal by buying another gun on Tuesday - three days before his murderous assault - but was refused because he did not have a "proper" permit. The shooting spree began after Lanza forced his way into the school, possibly by firing shots at a glass door or window. The school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung, and Mary Sherlach, the school's resident psychologist, were coming out of a meeting when they heard the noise. Mrs Hochsprung was one of the first to try to stop him. She and other administrators ran toward him. She lunged at Lanza, but he shot her dead. He also shot and injured another teacher, Natalie Hammond, the only victim to survive. Witnesses said the deaths could be heard over the school's tannoy system. She [Mrs Hochsprung] was crying. I thought she was screaming," said Tori Chop, who is in the third grade. That's what we heard over the loudspeaker. We heard kids crying. "We kept hearing gun noises and 'put your hands up" ... we kept hearing that." Tori's teacher, Teri Alves, like other staff in the school, sprang into action. "She went out to the door, she locked the door and taped a piece of white tape over the window of the door," said Tori of her teacher. And then she told us to go in the corner. Victoria Soto, 27, was killed when she used her own body to shield her pupils. Miss Soto died in a hail of bullets but is thought to have saved the lives of at least some children. "She put herself between the gunman and the children and that's when she was tragically shot and killed," said her cousin Jim Wiltsie. Mr Heslin's son Jesse Lewis, who was in Miss Soto's class, was not saved. Anne Marie Murphy, 52, a special education teacher, also tried to use her own body to shield her pupils. Police told her father that her body was found in a classroom covering a group of children who also died. Hugh McGowan, 86, of Katonah, New York State, said: "A first responder said she was a hero." Miss Murphy's mother Alice McGowan, 86, of told local reporters: "She was a happy soul. She was a very good daughter, a good mother, a good wife. Maryrose Kristopik, a music teacher, barricaded 15 children inside a cupboard as Lanza bashed at the door, said Sophia Lebinski, eight. The child's mother Brenda Lebinski said: "My daughter's teacher is my hero." However the ordeal of the dead children's parents was only beginning last night. Wayne Carver, the medical examiner, said the parents had had to look at pictures of their dead children's faces to identify them. Dr Carver said he had examined seven of the bodies and found all had been shot from the automatic rifle. This was a very devastating set of injuries. Everybody was hit more than once," he said. Lanza was mistaken at first for his brother Ryan, 24, because he had his brother's identification. Ryan Lanza, from Hoboken, New Jersey, was questioned about his brother and is said to have told authorities that the killer was autistic and had a personality disorder. Lanza's father Peter Lanza, a tax director for General Electric, lives in the affluent town of Stamford, Connecticut, having remarried a year ago. In a statement released on Saturday he said: "Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. "No words can truly express how heartbroken we are" and that relatives are "in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can."