New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says the loss of life in the school shooting in Connecticut is heart-breaking.
Twenty schoolchildren and six teachers were massacred on Friday, local time, when a young gunman walked into a quiet Connecticut primary school.
Mr Key on Saturday expressed dismay at the random, needless and heart-breaking loss of life at the elementary school.
He sent his heart-felt condolences to the families of the victims, the staff of the school, and the Newtown community.
Connecticut State Police spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vance said 18 children were killed inside Sandy Hook Elementary School and that two more died in hospital.
Six adults at the school were also killed, including its principal, before the killer was shot - either by his own hand or by police.
Leaders from many countries are expressing sympathy to the families of the victims of the tragedy.
