US school shooter's father lays son's body to rest

NEW YORK (AFP) - The father of the deranged gunman who massacred 20 small children and six other people at an elementary school and also killed his mother has finally been able to lay his son's body to rest.

A family spokesman told AFP that Peter Lanza, a tax executive at General Electric, "claimed Adam Lanza's body on Thursday and there were private arrangements that took place over the weekend."

The spokesman would not say what kind of ceremony was held, saying "the family wants folks to respect their privacy and isn't going to elaborate on the specifics."

Adam Lanza, 20, shot himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 as police closed in after he had gunned down 20 small children and six staff members. Immediately before the spree, he had shot dead his mother at her house in Newtown, a small town in Connecticut.