Officials said she died while lunging at the gunman in an attempt to overtake him.

‘‘She had an extremely likable style about her,’’ said Gerald Stomski, first selectman of Woodbury, where Hochsprung lived and had taught. ‘‘She was an extremely charismatic principal while she was here.’’

___

MADELEINE HSU, 6

Dr. Matthew Velsmid was at Madeleine’s house on Saturday, tending to her stricken family. He said the family did not want to comment.

Velsmid said that after hearing of the shooting, he went to the triage area to provide medical assistance but there were no injuries to treat.

‘‘We were waiting for casualties to come out, and there was nothing. There was no need, unfortunately,’’ he said. ‘‘This is the darkest thing I've ever walked into, by far.’’

Velsmid’s daughter, who attends another school, lost three of her friends.

___

CATHERINE HUBBARD, 6

Catherine’s parents released a statement expressing gratitude to emergency responders and for the support of the community.

‘‘We are greatly saddened by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Catherine Violet and our thoughts and prayers are with the other families who have been affected by this tragedy,’’ Jennifer and Matthew Hubbard said. ‘‘We ask that you continue to pray for us and the other families who have experienced loss in this tragedy.’’

___

CHASE KOWALSKI, 7

Chase Kowalski was always outside, playing in the backyard, riding his bicycle. Just last week, he was visiting neighbor Kevin Grimes, telling him about completing — and winning — his first mini-triathlon.

‘‘You couldn’t think of a better child,’’ Grimes said.

Grimes’ own five children all attended Sandy Hook, too. Cars lined up outside the Kowalskis’ ranch home Saturday, and a state trooper’s car idled in the driveway. Grimes spoke of the boy only in the present tense.

___

NANCY LANZA, 52, gunman’s mother

She once was known simply for the game nights she hosted and the holiday decorations she put up at her house. Now Nancy Lanza is known as her son’s first victim.

Authorities say her 20-year-old son Adam gunned her down before killing 26 others at Sandy Hook. The two shared a home in a well-to-do Newtown neighborhood, but details were slow to emerge of who she was and what might have led her son to carry out such horror.

Kingston, N.H., Police Chief Donald Briggs Jr. said Nancy Lanza once lived in the community and was a kind, considerate and loving person. The former stockbroker at John Hancock in Boston was well-respected, Briggs said.

Court records show Lanza and her ex-husband, Peter Lanza, filed for divorce in 2008. He lives in Stamford and is a tax director at General Electric. A neighbor, Rhonda Cullens, said she knew Nancy Lanza from get-togethers she had hosted to play Bunco, a dice game. She said her neighbor had enjoyed gardening.

‘‘She was a very nice lady,’’ Cullens said. ‘‘She was just like all the rest of us in the neighborhood, just a regular person.’’

___

JESSE LEWIS, 6

Six-year-old Jesse Lewis had hot chocolate with his favorite breakfast sandwich — sausage, egg and cheese — at the neighborhood deli before going to school Friday morning.

Jesse and his parents were regulars at the Misty Vale Deli in Sandy Hook, Conn., owner Angel Salazar told The Wall Street Journal.

‘‘He was always friendly; he always liked to talk,’’ Salazar said.

Jesse’s family has a collection of animals he enjoyed playing with, and he was learning to ride horseback.

Family friend Barbara McSperrin told the Journal that Jesse was ‘‘a typical 6-year-old little boy, full of life.’’

___

ANA MARQUEZ-GREENE, 6

A year ago, 6-year-old Ana Marquez-Greene was reveling in holiday celebrations with her extended family on her first trip to Puerto Rico. This year will be heartbreakingly different.

The girl’s grandmother, Elba Marquez, said the family moved to Connecticut just two months ago, drawn from Canada, in part, by Sandy Hook’s sterling reputation. The grandmother’s brother, Jorge Marquez, is mayor of a Puerto Rican town and said the child’s 9-year-old brother also was at the school but escaped safely.