Recent mass shootings in the U.S.

Friday: A gunman opens fire inside a Connecticut elementary school Friday in a shooting that leaves at least 27 people dead, including 18 children

Oct. 21, 2012: A shoot­er opens fire in­side the Azana Salon and Spa in Brook­field, Wis., killing three and in­jur­ing at least four oth­ers.

Aug. 5, 2012: A gunman opens fire at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis. killing six people and wounding three. Police shot and killed the suspect, Wade Michael Page, after the attack.

July 20, 2012: During a midnight screening of the film "The Dark Knight Rises" inAurora, Colo., a gunman opens fire on the crowded theater. At least 12 people are killed and 38 others are wounded. The suspect, James Holmes, set off a smoke device in the front of the theater before opening fire. Directly after the incident, Holmes, age 24, was arrested in a parking lot behind the theater.

Feb. 27, 2012: At Chardon High School in Ohio, a former classmate opened fire, killing three students and injuring six. Arrested shortly after the incident, the shooter said that he randomly picked students.

Oct. 12, 2011: Scott Dekraai, 41, ap­par­ently en­raged over a cus­tody dis­pute, al­legedly walks in­to a crowded Seal Beach, Calif. hair salon where his former wife works and opens fire. Eight people are killed, in­clud­ing a man sit­ting in a truck out­side the salon.

Jan. 8, 2011: Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in an assassination attempt. At least 17 others are shot by a gunman, identified as Jared Lee Loughner, who opened fire on the congresswoman's constituent meeting outside a grocery store in Tuscon, Ariz. Six people are fatally wounded, including U.S. District Court Judge John Roll, and a young girl.

Feb. 12, 2010: During a meeting on campus, Amy Bishop, a biology professor, began shot her colleagues, killing three and wounding three others in Huntsville, Ala.

SOURCES: Sun-Times and news reports