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She threw herself in front of the gunman to save her students: Astonishing story of the brave teacher who died protecting children from 'deeply disturbed' killer

• Victoria Soto, 27, sacrificed herself to save her first grade students by throwing her body in front of the gunman Adam Lanza
• She was a highly regarded member of staff who was popular with her students and was known to chew gum in class
• Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were also killed execution-style after confronting Lanza
• Mrs Hochsprung reportedly buzzed the shooter into the school and past the security system because she recognized him as the son of a colleague

By MICHAEL ZENNIE, LESLIE LARSON and DAVID MCCORMACK

PUBLISHED: 01:48 GMT, 15 December 2012 | UPDATED: 15:40 GMT, 15 December 2012

A young teacher displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed her life saving as many children as she could in her first grade class.

Victoria Soto, 27, had worked at Sandy Hook Elementary for five years. Her final moments were spent ushering her students into a closet when she came face-to-face with gunman Adam Lanza and she tried her best to shield them from the evil gunman.

Soto was a highly regarded young teacher and was extremely popular with her pupils. One student, Jacob Riley, told Mailonline that Soto was known for chewing gum in class - something not usually allowed for teachers. He said he often teased her about her habit and she had playfully teased him back.

Passion: The first grade teacher had a passion for education and always knew she wanted to teach

'She took her kids, put them in the closet and by doing so she lost her life protecting those little ones,' Soto's cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News. 

'She was found huddled over her children, her students, doing instinctively what she knew was the right thing. I'm just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm,' he continued. 

'It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes she's a hero,' he added.

A deeply distraught 10-year-old boy who is a former student of Miss Soto described her as 'really nice and funny.'

In total three teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School trying to save their students from gunman Lanza, who was the son of a woman who worked at the school. 

The other two have been identified as principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56.

Twenty-eight people died in the shooting rampage, including 20 young children between the ages of five and ten, alleged gunman Adam Lanza, who took his own life, and his mother, who was shot before the school massacre. 

When Lanza started firing at the school in suburban Newtown, Connecticut, some teachers dove under tables - but Mrs Hochsprung and Mrs Sherlach never hesitated.

They ran into the hallway to confront the danger - and were murdered execution-style as a result.

Selfless: Victoria Soto threw herself in front of her first grade students and was killed as a result

The New York Times reports that Mrs Hochsprung buzzed Lanza into the school, bypassing the newly-installed security system - recognizing him as the son of Nancy Lanza, a teacher there. 

Little did she know that Adam had already killed his mother at the home they shared nearby. He took three of her guns and used her car to drive to the school.

Diane Day, a school therapist, told the Wall Street Journal that she and several other teachers were in a meeting with Mrs Hochsprung and Mrs Sherlach when the shooting began. 

'We were there for about five minutes chatting and we heard, "pop pop pop,"' she said. 'I went under the table.'

The principal and the school psychologist had other ideas. They jumped out of their seats and ran toward the sound of the gunfire. 

'They didn’t think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on,' Ms Day said. 

Rabbi Shaul Praver told MSNBC that Mrs Hochsprung and Mrs Sherlach were killed execution-style. 

Tributes for all educators poured in on Friday night.

Former school superintendent John Reed told the Connecticut Post that Mrs Sherlach was warm and cared deeply for her students.

'If there ever was a person, by qualifications and personality, to work with children, to be a school psychologist, it was Mary,' he said.

Murdered: Principal Dawn Hochsprung, left, and school psychologist March Sherlach, right, were killed after confronting the Connecticut school gunman 

She was married with two grown daughters in their 20s and enjoyed gardening, reading and the theater, according to her school biography. 

Friends and neighbors said it was immediately clear to everyone she knew that she loved her students and her school.

'I don’t think you could find a more positive place to bring students to every day,' she had told a local newspaper recently.

Another tale of heroism came from an eight-year-old student who said a teacher pulled him from the hallway as bullets rang out. 

'I saw some of the bullets going down the hall that I was right next to and then a teacher pulled me into her classroom,' the boy told CBS News.

'It sounded like someone was kicking a door,' he said of the piercing sound of the gunfire. 

His relieved mother agreed, saying that the teacher saved her son's life.

Saved: This eight-year-old student said a teacher pulled him from the hallway into her classroom as bullets rang out