(MCT) — BLOOMINGTON — The tragedy in a Connecticut elementary school has resonated with people around the world as they grapple with how the most innocent of victims could become targets of a gunman armed with a weapon designed for the military.

At statehouses and the U.S. Capitol, officials are calling for a ban on assault rifles and a renewed focus on the access potentially unstable people have to firearms. In the wake of the shootings that left 26 dead, McLean County mental health, law enforcement and public health officials have been reflecting on the vulnerability a community faces when guns fall into the wrong hands.