Timeline: Major shooting incidents in the US this year

The deadly school shooting at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday was the latest in a series of shooting crimes in the United States this year. Following are some of the worst such incidents in the United States in 2012: April 2:  A gunman kills seven people and wounds three in a shooting rampage at a Christian college in Oakland. [caption id=“attachment_558232” align=“alignright” width=“380”] In August, a lone gunman opened fire at a gurdwara in Wisconsin, killing six. Reuters[/caption] July 20:  A masked gunman kills 12 people and wounds 58 when he opens fire on moviegoers at a showing of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado. August 5: A gunman kills six people during Sunday services at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, before he is shot dead by a police officer. August 24:  Two people are killed and eight wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City at the height of the tourist season. September 27:  A disgruntled former employee kills five people and takes his own life in a shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company from which he had been fired. October 21:  Three people are killed in a Milwaukee area spa including the estranged wife of the suspected gunman, who then killed himself. December 14:  A shooter opens fire at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing several people including children. Sources: Reuters and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Reuters