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A gunman has killed 20 children and six adults at a primary school in the US state of Connecticut, BBC reported, citing police.

The gunman, who also died, has not been formally identified by police.

But officials told US media that the killer at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, was a 20-year-old son of a teacher at the school. He is thought to have killed her before the attack.

It is one of the worst-ever US school shootings, with a toll close to the 32 who died at Virginia Tech in 2007.

Early reports named 24-year-old Ryan Lanza as the gunman, but anonymous officials later said his brother Adam, 20, was the suspect.

He is believed to have killed their mother, Nancy Lanza, at their home before heading to the school where she worked.

Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, New Jersey, was being questioned by police, US media reported, but has not been named as a suspect.

Police Lt Paul Vance said 18 children were pronounced dead at the school, and two died after being taken to hospital. Six adults were also killed, and the gunman died at the scene, apparently after shooting himself.

One person was also injured, and police were investigating a second crime scene in Newtown, where another victim was found dead - understood to be the gunman's mother.

Dressed in black and wearing a bullet-proof vest, the gunman is thought to have had several weapons.

These included two handguns - a Glock and a Sig Sauer - and a .223-calibre rifle, reports said.

The killings took place in two rooms within a single section of the school, police have said.

One parent, Stephen Delgiadice, whose eight-year-old daughter was at Sandy Hook School on Friday but was not harmed, said the shooting was traumatic for the small town.

"It's alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America," Mr Delgiadice told AP.

At a memorial service in Newtown people crowded outside the doors of the church as Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy addressed those gathered.

He called the attack a "tragedy of unspeakable terms", saying "you can never be prepared" for an event like this.

In Washington, about 200 people held a candlelight vigil for the victims outside the White House, whilst others protested there to call for gun controls.