Sandy Hook shooting: All deaths were homicides, medical examiner says (VIDEOS)

All victims of Friday's horrific shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school were killed by multiple rifle shots fired at close range, a medical examiner said Saturday afternoon.

Dr. H. Wayne Carver said at a news conference that “everybody was hit more than once," and that all the deaths have been classified as homicides, the Washington Post reported.

A list of victim names as released by Carver's office appears below.

The search for answers began Saturday after authorities in Newtown, Connecticut, identified all of the victims killed in Friday's school shooting, and the investigation into the massacre is ongoing. 

Police did not speak to the motive behind the school shooting, the second-deadliest in US history, according to the Post. 

President Barack Obama plans to attend an interfaith vigil in Newtown on Sunday, according to Reuters. The US leader earlier urged Americans to join in solidarity in a weekly address that stopped short of calling for stricter gun control. 

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The bodies of the 20 children and six adults gunned down Friday morning by 20-year-old Adam Lanza had been removed from Sandy Hook Elementary School by Saturday morning. Meanwhile, grieving parents were gathered at the firehouse nearby, NBC News reported.

“They were wondering whether the children knew what was happening to them, whether they were afraid,” Monsignor Robert Weiss told NBC.

Authorities said Lanza shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at her home in Newtown, then took three of her guns and drove her car to the school.

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In a news conference Saturday morning, Connecticut State Police said Lanza was not let into the school, but forced his way inside.

Authorities would not comment on earlier reports that Lanza broke some glass near the entrance to the 600-student school to gain entry.

Lanza, said to have a personality disorder, then opened fire in the hallways and several classrooms, gunning down 26 adults and children before taking his own life, CBS News reported.

So far, investigators looking for a motive have found "some very good evidence," that they believe will help paint a complete picture of how and why this happened, CNN quoted state police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance as saying in Saturday's news conference.

On Friday night, thousands packed St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and other nearby churches for community vigils while gun-control advocates held a candlelight vigil outisde the White House.

The most prominent calling for reforms was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who declared pointedly in a statement: "Calling for 'meaningful action" is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before," according to The Associated Press.

Several efforts have been set up to offer immediate help the victims of the shooting, including The Sandy Hook School Support Fund, put in place by United Way of Western Connecticut, which will support services to the families affected as well as the community, CNN reported. 

Newtown Youth and Family Services, a non-profit mental health clinic, is also staying open over the weekend for grief counselling, and is taking donations as well. 

Below is the list of victim names as released by the chief medical examiner's office. Among the dead are 18 females and 8 males.

Children:
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeleine F. Hsu, 6
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Aveille Richman, 6
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison N. Wyatt, 6

Adults:
Dawn Hochsprung, 47
Rachel Davino, 29
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27