UPDATE: State Police give the all clear at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.
NEWTOWN, Connecticut (CNN) -- Authorities evacuated a Catholic church in Newtown, Connecticut, Sunday.
It was unclear why the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church had been evacuated.
Witnesses said authorities told them to leave the church premises.
In front of the church, authorities were seen collecting stuffed animals from a makeshift memorial and placing them in plastic bags.
A column of armed police officers walked across the church property and entered a building next to the church's parking lot.
The church is less than two miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults Friday before killing himself.
UPDATE: Witnesses at the mass said police entered the church and told parishioners that a threat had been made against the church and the surrounding area and that everyone had to leave immediately.
NEWTOWN, CT (NBC News) - St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown has been evacuated. State police have responded to the church, according to NBC reporter Audrey Washington.
A noon mass was being held at the Roman Catholic Church at 46 Church Hill Road.
More than a dozen State Troopers armed with assault rifles entered a home next to the church, according to Washington.
Parishioners and news media were told to leave the church property immediately.
