UPDATED: Conn. School Shooting: Could it Happen Here?

UPDATE: Saturday, Dec. 15, 7:35 a.m. - A shooting rampage in Connecticut, Friday morning, Dec. 14, left 27 people dead at an elementary school, including 20 children, according to numerous media reports. 

In a story for the Washington Post, the Associated Press said the shooter had several guns during the rampage. Newtown Patch says gunman, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed himself. Other media outlets, who incorrectly labled Adam's brother Ryan Lanza the shooter at first, say Adam first killed his mother at the home he shared with her before driving her car to the school where she was a substitute teacher and beginning his spree. Newtown Patch says officials are expected provide additional details and victims' names on Saturday.

The AP reports:

Mergim Bajraliu, 17, heard the gunshots echo from his home and raced to check on his 9-year-old sister at the school. He said his sister, who was fine, heard a scream come over the intercom at one point. He said teachers were shaking and crying as they came out of the building.

Check Newtown Patch for updates in the school shooting.

"Educators are a family and this is a terrible event for all of us to learn about. Our thoughts and prayers are with those in Connecticut," Fulton Schools Spokeswoman Susan Hale told Patch in an e-mail.

Local schools have safety plans that are regularly practiced and include training on how teachers and other staff will respond in the event of any emergency, as well as how parents would be reunited with their children, according to Hale.

"We also have a mass notifications service that allows us to communicate quickly with parents and share critical information," she said. "In addition, we have close working relationships with our law enforcements agencies so that an emergency response can coordinated and quickly enacted."

With seemingly more shootings taking place in public places, like the shooting at an Oregon mall earlier this week, the issue of gun control and safety procedures have become a hot-button topic.

Many are pushing new legislation for gun control, while others argue additional laws aren't the answer.

What do you think? Could this kind of shooting happen here in North Fulton? What can be done to prevent a tragedy like this?