Newtown, from post-card pretty to deeply scarred

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (AFP) - Evil, as the governor described it, seems incompatible with a place as quaint as this.

The latest American community to be bathed thick in blood by a crazed shooter - this time the victims included 20 elementary school children - is a small town surrounded by woods, rolling hills and creeks.

Handsome homes of brick or wood line leafy streets. The population is 27,000 and everybody knows everybody. Main street is just a few clothing or gift shops and a couple of family style-restaurants.

Next to one gas station there is a diner, a quintessential American diner.