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Subscribe to RSSNBC's Pete Williams has more information on a report that Connecticut school shooter Adam Lanza may have been involved in an altercation with staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary one day before the murders.
Undated photo confirmed by government officials to be Adam Lanza, who apparently killed himself after killing more than two dozen others, including 20 school children.
A day after the Newtown massacre, gunman Adam Lanza’s motive – and any personal demons – remained a mystery.
Lanza, 20, was identified by authorities as the black-clad killer who fatally shot his mother, gunned down 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and then committed suicide on Friday.
His older brother told authorities Lanza had a history of mental problems, but the nature of them was not clear. Former classmates remembered him as a brainy and quiet teen who sometimes wore a pocket protector.
Tim Arnone told Reuters that he first met Lanza at Sandy Hook and attended Newtown High School with him, where the two were members of a technology club. He said Lanza was "driven hard" to succeed academically by his parents, particularly his mother.
Nancy Lanza and her husband, Peter Lanza, divorced in 2008, according to public records. Peter Lanza could not immediately be reached for comment but has spoken to police.
Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High School in 2009, told The Associated Press that Adam Lanza was generally a happy person but that he hadn't seen him in a few years.
"We would hang out, and he was a good kid. He was smart," Joshua Milas said. "He was probably one of the smartest kids I know."
Catherine Urso, of Newtown, told the Associated Press her college-age son knew Lanza. "He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the Goths," she said.
Law enforcement officials initially told NBC News that the gunman was Lanza's brother, Ryan, and they had sent out a bulletin to local and federal law enforcement agencies to that effect.
But when authorities went to Ryan's home in Hoboken, N.J., to search it, they unexpectedly found him there.
Ryan told police he was not involved and that his brother has a history of mental health issues and might have had his ID even though they had not seen each other in two years, officials said.
A senior official later said that Ryan was nowhere near the shooting, was not believed to be involved, and was cooperating with the investigation.
Lanza's aunt, Marsha Lanza, of Crystal Lake, Ill., told the AP she was close with Adam Lanza's mother and sent her a Facebook message Friday morning asking how she was doing. Nancy Lanza never responded.
Marsha Lanza described Nancy Lanza as a good mother and kind-hearted. She said her husband saw Adam Lanza as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary about him.
Nancy Lanza’s mother was too distraught to speak when reached by phone at her home in Brooksville, Fla., the AP reported.
"I just don't know, and I can't make a comment right now," Dorothy Hanson, 78, said in a shaky voice as she started to cry.
NBC News Justice Correspondent Pete Williams contributed to this report.
Authorities are investigating why the alleged gunman would have killed his mother at home and then killed so many children. NBC's Pei-Sze Cheng reports.
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Michelle Mcloughlin / Reuters
The second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history sent crying children spilling into the school parking lot as frightened parents waited for word on their loved ones.
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Something just doesn't seem right about all this. The father not seeing the son since June. The son having mental issues. The mother, a kindergarten teacher, having an arsenal at her home. The older brother giving the younger brother his ID. The older brother doesn't seem too shaken up by the fact that he just lost his brother and mother. There is more to this. Something is not being told.
Your right, it does not add up. And the next time there is a shooting and we look at the shooter and family and mental illness that probably won't add up either, and on and on. Society can't control these issues but we can limit a persons ability to obtain automatic and semi-automatic weapons with large shot clips (30)- These weapons are designed to kill people. They have no other purpose. Of course this will not stop all shooting but it may limit the number of shooting and the number of dead people at a shooting. We can't just do nothing.
The killer's underlying mental state is always worth examining. In this instance a major factor is his autism. Unlike normal people who may be pure evil, the autistic child, like Lanza, is a ticking time bomb who can go off at any time. So now the question is: Do we let people with autism access to weapons or do we pretend they are "normal."
You can't predict who is going to be a mass shooter.
Correct. But that fact does not stop the problem.
Our Government wants us dumb, lazy, and unarmed...What for?
Well they have succeeded at the dumb and lazy part.
Obamma was re-elected.
If every law abiding non-mentally handicapped carried a hand gun these event would be stopped sooner.
As soon as a person started shooting up a mall or a school or a theater -they would be dead in short order.
They only way to defend against a wacko with a gun is to have 20 normal folks around with a gun
If you do not want to carry a gun the you pay a $50 yearly fee
Wow so you think it is easy to identify all the law abiding non-mentally handicapped people ?
At what point in their life do we issue the guns ? 21 ? so if they havent committed a crime by 21, or done something to indicate they are mentally handicapped, we assume they will be ok the rest of their life ? Seriously ?
There are lots of people who fit your description, who I wouldnt want to be around if they had a gun.
I mean OJ was law abiding, even after he killed his wife.
You are wrong. More guns do not solve the problem. We are already the most heavily armed nation on earth. How many times have you heard of a shooter being taken out by somebody with a gun. Never.
With a gun? No, a knife!
Must we ban knives?
BTW he was no longer a law-abiding person AFTER he murdered someone!
Motive of the shooter, it does not mater. Nothing about the shooter should be talked about. How are all the victims family doing?
oops
Whats wrong with you people. This is the NRA "post-birth abortion" program. If your not for us, your against us. Anti gun, is anti American.
You'll see, no one's gonna do sh*t. Liberals are pussy's with no follow throgh or brass.........The gun lobby owns the reupublicans and quite a few dems. Turn on your TV and pour a cocktail. Just rest and forget.
Yep, as Paul Harvey called it, "Just abortion after the fact."
So no need to feel sorry for the victims, right?
I agree with many of the comments here.
Shooters could kill not just 10s or people but thousands, and nothing would be done.
We have decided as a society that we want lots of guns around, and that it is not only a right for every person to have a gun, but it should be easy to get them. So when a crazy guy decides to start killing people he doesnt have to make much effort to make it happen.
Its kind lof like living in a house where candy and pies are on every counter, and wondering why you are fat. The candy doesnt make you fat, but having it around in plain sight all the time, makes it more likely you will eat it, than if you had to go to the store everytime you wanted a piece.
Good point. So considering that the US has the most obese people of any country in the world we really should ban sweets, or at the very least make them very difficult to obtain, right?
I think one of the biggest questions in this situation is: how did he get in?? One article I read stated that they had security measures in place so that people couldn't just walk in. They had to ring a doorbell and get let in, then they had to sign in at the office. How and why did that system fail?
Well maybe he pointed his gun at someone and they let him in ?
I mean how well armed and trained is the average security person at an elementary school ?
Assuming he even encountered a security person.
But it is an interesting question.
It is time for the media to start treating these incidents like a guy streaking on a football field.
Do NOT publish their name, don't publish their photo.
Do not give them their 15 minutes of infamy, keep then anonymous.
There is a fine line between freedom of the press and responsible journalism.
Perhaps if the media was more responsible and cared more about society than ratings they could help prevent future incidents like this.
Unfortunately people will always find ways to do what they want to do, no matter what anyone does. The school can be locked down like a prison and someone who wants to kill will just wait till they go on the playground, or come out to go home. Gun Control is not the answer, just another reason to take away our rights. No one could have prevented this, and the next one will not be prevented either
People do not need to have "motives" today. It is pure evil, and comes from Satan. Our country has given itself over to Satan and things like this will only escalate as time moves forward.
It is sad, that so many children have died at one time, and at the hand of one person, but the fact of the matter is people and children die in our cities, and across our nation everyday, one by one, and not much is said about it. They die from abuse, neglect, beatings, shaking's and the like. The problem is not guns, it is people.
Sure but that is like saying we dont need police because they can't stop all crime. We dont need laws because people will do Satan's bidding anyway, and we dont need jails because we can put all the criminals away.
Because we can't stop it all we should not try to make it more difficult ?
I find pastor65's remarks disgusting. Of course we can do something. Of course reasonable gun control will help. rarely do these kinds of killing happen in countries with gun control. Your just so wrong in every way.
No, they won't. Whether the constraints are social, ethical, or legal, people are deterred from doing what they want to do all the time. If we didn't believe that, there would be no point in a democratic society defined by human rights and a legal system.
People have been finding ways to achieve their misguided goals for centuries. Gun control (The disarming of Americans, in a more correct statement) is not the answer, and will solve or stop absolutely nothing. People will sell their souls to the government for the false idea that the government will keep them safe. A page right out of Hitler's playbook. This is nothing more than the dumbing down of Americans, leading to a socialistic state.
Actually, that's a completely incorrect statement. Only a fanatic would conflate regulation of the sales and use of firearms with wholesale "disarming."
Your use of the word "disarming" is telling: What does being "armed" have to do with hunting or target practice?This particular brand of fanaticism apparently comes with an unhealthy dose of paranoia. Thinking about it, I'd feel a lot safer and freer if your guns were taken away.
Has anyone else noticed the irony of people living in a state of armed paranoia blaming this on mental illness?
Well, Obama's favorite entertainer sang it...kill the Yankees, kill their children. And he was just honored to sing at the White House. I guess we all get it now. Just now let Michael Moore turn this murderer into a hero like he did the Columbine creeps. But, hey, it works. Get the kids to kill kids, honor them, immortalize them, and create more. Now some guy just slashed 22 kids in China with a knife...guess the knife was at fault. Not the person, not the media, no reason to blame the person who did the act, no... blame the gun. This is disgusting and the people who are willing to be slaves to a corrupt government and want a dictator are all for it. Just like the majority of German people. Same distortion of the truth by the government funded media.
Get some help - soon.
This is literally incomprehensible. Is there a point here?
Makes sense to me.
Then we should stop wasting money on police and prisons, because that doesnt stop all crime.
Yep, just like condoms for kids. They're gonna f--- anyway so just give them the means to do so. Same liberal philosophy.
when is the last time you heard about a person shooting people at a gun range, NRA Headquarters, gun store, etc....
Bad people tend to do these things in GUN FREE ZONES...schools, theaters, etc
There will always be more GOOD people then bad PEOPLE.
Interestingly, more of these shootings take place in BLUE states which tend to have stricter gun laws because Libs hate those guns but love to defend those criminals who use them. RED states are more liberal with gun laws and have less of these mass murders.
Also of note, there have been 8 of these mass shootings in the past 4 year term of BHO, and only 7 in the 10 years prior total. Reason for the increase? Crumbling of our society under the Hope and Change "leader". No rules are ok with me? Anything goes now? Clinton the Perv is our top hero? We are PRO CHOICE (except when it comes to RIGHT TO WORK unions???)? Hypocrites.
Active Chief - Your a moron.
Parents - if you have a son that is heading into his teenage years, or that is struggling with bully issues or psychological problems; please do the RIGHT thing and lock up your guns/ buy a gun safe and hide the key. Yes - you may be a little bit more at risk in defending your property, but just look at how quickly they can be used against you and multiple innocent victims. Don't just think "hey it can't happen to me". This was a very nice town. Do the right thing. Do it today...
It's not about fixing the gun laws in this country.. Guns don't kill people.. PEOPLE Kill people. They need to work on the mental illness industry.
Waste of taxpayer money. Unfortunate. These shrinks rake in the money, but dont help people.
Questions running through my mind - how does a freak like this get guns? I am not anti-gun; I am anti-irresponsible people who let freaks get hold of their guns. Supposedly the guns were his moms. Typical Mom in denial...((my son is a little weird but it's ok)). Kid was an obvious loser - lives at home, willing to bet no job. Anti-social. Autistic. Part of this problem stems from forced integration of these abnormal kids into mainstream schools now to satisfy the Libs, so that they "hopefully" will feel like they fit in, even though we all know they dont. No one will say it out loud.
This freak knew he would shock people with this act, the shock reflects his pain of knowing he doesnt really fit in, and the shock is his way to communicate that pain.
Quit integrating abnormals into our schools! It distracts the teachers and gives the normals less attention to succeed.
I don't think you have a clue how to handle mental illness and the retarded.
Enlighten me.
It take years of training. My sister is a special education teacher (now a principal of a special education school). It has taken her a lifetime and she works with really educated devoted professionals. Let them handle the mentally ill and the retarded. Your comments are not appreciated.
Very VERY poor taste for Mr. Williams or whoever did it to call the woman's 78 year old mother and expect
Are they SURE this time?
The mother had 5 (5) regstered guns and a mentally ill son. Can you spell STUPID. What was wrong with that woman to keep 5 guns in a home with an unbalanced son Stupid, stupid, stupid.
BINGO! Anti-social adult voter living at home with Mom, with access to her guns. And this woman was a teacher who might have known better. You can all thank her for being in denial.
2 ironies concerning this story.
1) The gun clutchers will now say Obama is going to use this tragedy to take away their guns and actually go out and buy more.
2) The mother/teacher probably purchased the firearms to keep her family safer and ended up ADDING to the statistical probability that guns in the house are more likely to be used intentionally or accidently on another family member as opposed to an assailant.
You don't buy three guns to protect your family. One was basically an assault rifle. Not acceptable!
Based on what the gun advocates say, we should all have guns, we should disband the police, and the laws, and when us good people see someone doing something we dont like, we should just shoot them.
Since good people outnumber bad, eventually all the bad ones will be dead.
The idea that guns dont kill people, is just like the idea that food doesnt make people fat. It doesnt make people fat, but if your house has candy and pies on every counter, then you are more likely to eat it, than if you have to go to the store to get each piece.
Gun control of course wont stop all these shooters, just like the police dont stop all crime. Doesnt mean we disband the police and open up the jails because the system isnt perfect.
There needs to be smart gun control. What we have now is unacceptable.
Agreed.
I'd like you to point out any "gun advocate" on here that has espoused anything remotely related to any of what you claim. While you're looking, feel free to use that time to GFY.
This kind of nationalization and sensationalization of a local tragedy by the media is exactly how you create the next copycat killer, according to forensic psychologists.
Agreed, how is it stopped ? You think even if the media cooperated this could be kept a secret ?
So do we ignore it then?
HNL - so what you are saying is don't talk about the problem then it will go away. How's that life strategy working for in your own life. We have to find solutions and to not see what is forensic in this horrible event besides the media is like saying. "Why should I solve my problems. If I solve them I will just get new problems to solve. With these problems - well, I can live with them." The real question is - can you live with the killing of 20 kids. I think I will go with solving these problems to focus on the new problems.