US President Barack Obama has marked the anniversary of the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook school by urging Americans to push for tighter gun control.
Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home before driving to the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, to carry out the massacre. He killed 20 children and six school workers and turned the gun on himself as police arrived.
President Barack Obama and wife Michelle honoured students and teachers killed at Sandy Hook school. Photo: AFP
Commemorations at Newtown were held in private. Photo: AFP
Mr Obama said on Saturday the United States had to do more to keep dangerous people from getting their hands on guns so easily.
The president and his wife Michelle observed a moment of silence at the White House and lit candles in memory of those who died.
President Obama called for stricter gun laws following the tragedy, but Congress has rejected every one, the BBC reports.
In the town itself, some of the bereaved held small ceremonies but the media were asked to stay away.
On Friday, the eve of the anniversary, two students were shot and wounded by another student at a school in Colorado. The gunman later died, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.