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Grief mixes with impatience in shattered Newtown

Friends and co-workers hold a sign as the hearse and funeral procession for James Mattioli, 6, who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, approaches the St. John
Friends and co-workers hold a sign as the hearse and funeral procession for James Mattioli, 6, who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, approaches the St. John's Cemetery Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, in Darien, Conn. Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Dec. 14, and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. (Craig Ruttle / Fr61802 Ap)
David Kleppermichael Melia Associated Press

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — Emotions are in tatters amid a global crush of attention to a Connecticut town once known mostly for its bucolic atmosphere and sterling school system.

Newtown has held only three funerals so far for the 27 killed by a schoolhouse gunman last week and has many more ahead of it. The mourning mixed with media attention are forming a potent mix in a town once known mainly for being a good place to raise a family.

Police are walking children to parents waiting in cars to protect them from the cameras. Many parents have yelled at reporters to leave their children and the town alone.

Children went back to school Tuesday except for those who attended the school where the massacre took place Friday. Mourners overlapped at one church holding back-to-back funerals for two first-graders.

More funerals and wakes are planned Wednesday.