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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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- Video: 'Our hearts are broken,' Obama says
- Gunman's mother owned weapons used in massacre
- 'Screams were coming over the intercom'
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- Massacre leaves America shocked and grieving ... again
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Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
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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Characteristics of Offenders Who Violate and Assault Children
According to the Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, the following statistics have been recorded concerning the characteristics of offenders who violate and assault children.
• Those inmates who were convicted of committing violent acts against children were more like to have been white, a percentage of nearly 70%, than any other race.
• White inmates were nearly three times more likely to have victimized a child than b l a c k inmates.
• About one in every seven Hispanic convicts had been convicted for a crime against a child.
• Nearly two-thirds of convicted child m o l e s t e r s and/or offenders were or had been married.
• Child m o l e s t e r s and offenders were more likely to have grown up in a two parent home and were more likely to have been molested as a child.
• Approximately 22% of child offenders reported having been s e x u a l l y abused as a child.
Source: childprotection.lifetips.c o m
Something must be done about all these violent deranged DemoKKKrats.
Ban handguns.
Don't ban handguns. Guns should be allowed in the homes of those who take the necessary precautions to prevent incidents like this from happening. If the mother had trigger locks or a locked gun safe, this lunatic wouldn't have been able to fire the guns. In case you have never seen a gun safe, they don't use keys.
What are you going to do without a handgun or a shotgun when a burglar/murderer, or two, break into your house and point guns at you and your family? At that moment, Jesus, or who ever you believe, isn't going to protect you. A broom handle isn't going to stop them from beating you or raping you. Unless you have ever fought with a kitchen knife in the past, then you are more likely to injury yourself with your own knife than the intruder.
A ban on guns will not stop insane people from committing awful crimes. If its not guns, then its knives. If its not knives, then its crowbars. If its not crowbars, well hopefully you get the point.
I would gladly give up my second amendment rights if I could have my fifth amendment rights back.
To live in a world where I didn't have to testify against myself...even if a judge said I did...even to the IRS, well, that would be worth not having a dad gummed gun.
I would rather that the government needed judicial oversight over their police powers.. you know,..like a warrant to search me and to seize my stuff... and I would give up my guns in a moment if my government had to have a trial and press charges should they arrest me for anything.
I would give up my 2nd amendment rights in a heartbeat, if my government would accept any legislated limits at all. I don't even care what those limits might be.. just accept some sort of limits about anything. I might suggest things like "no campaign donations from foreign countries"... but hey, if government would limit itself by legislation about ANYTHING...that would be a good day.
God... this shooting is a tragedy... my god, what a tragedy...a kid... a dumb stupid kid, wrapped up in some trivial nonsense...without the ability to navigate life at all, has slaughtered innocents. He killed his own mother!!!!
I am so sorry for this...I'm sorry for the guns... for the slaughter, for the imbalance... I'm so sorry this poor murdering bastard had no guidance.. There was no one to show him how to deal with his exaggerated feelings..
... TWENTY frigging dead children! I won't sleep tonight...my hear aches. I would give up my guns forever to have one of them back.
Damned clueless bastard...
I can not believe some of the comments I have heard on some forums. I am a Navy vet and gun owner. I have played black ops 2 and think that games like those played a part. I am all for 2nd amendment, but we need to do something to stop mentally ill people from owning weapons or accesing weapons. It is a slippery slope I know. But I for one just can not equate this to traffic accidents or tobacco use. Ones a choice, ones an accident, this is purposeful death.
Is it totally crazy to put a 9mm under lock and key or a code that changes every so often? GUNMEN KNOW THAT SCHOOLS DONT ALLOW FIREARMS! I am a total liberal and gun owner. But Im just sick of it. As one poster said " the toothpaste is out of the tube. There are 200million guns in America.
On the other side, research Australia and guns.
Just throwing ideas out. This is one of the worst crimes in American History.
Live by the gun, Die by the gun.
Where was "God" while these kids were being killed? Oh that's right, they deserved to die as it was "Gods will".... Give God credit for anything good that happens but don't blame him for anything bad... Hypocrite's!!!
Hey, watch it!
Thinking hurts!
First, my heart goes out to the families and the survivor's of this horrific tragedy. Next if not now when are we going to put teeth to the existing gun laws that we have allowed to be gutted ?
Finally are we going to give whatever it takes to help those who suffer from mental illness?
Why did he target all the kids, 20 of them?
Why did he kill more children than adults (20 vs 8)?
What a tragic story!
Father and mother divorced. They had 2 sons. He lived with his mum- a kind-hearted person and a good teacher. He was one of the smartest kids. His mum owned 2 guns that he used to carry out the worst record of killing spree in US history.
It seemed that he had it all. A father, a good mother, a loving brother and a used-to-be-good kid himself - a great traditional family!
What went wrong? And he's just 20 years old.
Last week, Mayor Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan
District Attorney Cy Vance announced the indictments of 16 defendants allegedly
involved in illegal
gun trafficking.
Said Vance, in a written
statement:
my deepest condolences to the families of this tragedy.
Another crazed DemoKKKrat with stolen guns....
Vern is a moron.
Well obviously this guy wasnt as mentally deficient as they first reported. I was led to believe he had Autism. If he does, it sounds mild if hes in school.
Gun control? Really?...People who write the News ,,,they need control....
Michael Moore needs to have some sort of control over his Mouth!
We do have gun control...we do not, however, control our children !
So I guess taking the Ten Commandments out of the schools isn't working out so well- Liberals didn't want school children being exposed to dangerous ideas like "Thou shalt not commit murder".
Is that one of the ten?
In Vern's world killing is fine, as long as it's not murder... whatever that means.
@horse - How do you come to that conclusion? All killing is murder unless it is justified (for example, killing in self-defense)
Maybe actions have consequences.
Maybe teaching children fiction as if it was fact (the "theory" of evolution) isn't such a good idea.
Maybe indoctrinating children to think that they have no more value than an accident that happened to mud, tends to devalue human life.
Not to mention telling them that it's okay to murder over 50 million innocent babies (since "Roe" v. Wade).
Please don't give Vern the keys to the gun safe.
Maybe you should learn to keep your penis in your pants.
Maybe you should learn to wear a condom.
Maybe you should learn that "having sex" is actually not at all the same thing as "choosing to bear a child", that people have sex for reasons that have nothing at all to do with repoduction and that women are not just uteruses with legs.
Maybe you should learn that your so-called "Holy Book" and omnipotent imaginary nonexistent Sky Pixie's "rules" are actually not binding on anybody but you.
Maybe you should learn that women are sentient beings with the right to control their own bodies, and not mindless unthinking Easy-Bake ovens and birthing chambers for fetuses that they neither asked for nor wanted.
Maybe you should get even more friendly with your hand.
Wow, SSunset -
you should seek some help since you obviously have issues. Rants of this sort because someone posited a thought you don't like? Whew.
mpa-4893349
Maybe you should learn the difference between a rant and a simple response. What I typed was a simple response.
Anyone who claims that abortion rights somehow "caused" or is in any way "related to" a lunatic's decision to snuff out 28 peoples' lives with a firearm, is the person who has very obvious mental health issues.
Anyone who doesn't understand this simple fact, also probably has some mental health issues of their own.
The media needs to stop giving these pieces of @!$%# their 15 minutes. Every time they put these @!$%#s in the headlines they encourage the next one in line to try and top the one before.
Do we want the "psycho" test before we allow gun sales? A Rorschach test for a crossbow? What if we tested this teacher gal, she passed, and her son got a hold of her guns? Test anyone with access to the house. Pass a law on how the guns are to be safely stored? Test when they're 16? 18? 25? 30? Every year/month/week?
Don't allow handgun sales. Don't sell bullets.
Oh look, a "quiet", "shy", person with a 1,000 yard stare.
As far as the gun issue, don’t own one, never shot one, never will, but can’t we agree to ban automatic weapons? Hunters don’t need them and homeowners shouldn’t need them to defend themselves. I realize in the case today an automatic weapon was NOT used but certainly was in the Aurora shooting. We DO need some kind of sanity to our gun control laws and there are no easy answers.
Most important is the mental health issue. Some people will massacre innocents out of hate or ideologies, but for the last several years we have seen a pattern of mental illness being the underlying reason.
My son suffers from bi-polar disorder that presented, as typical (I know now) at age 18 when he had the first episode of debilitating depression. Up to then, he was a happy, smart, amazing boy with any future he wanted in his sights, As a parent, it’s difficult to sift through the immature irrationality of many teen and young adult behaviors to recognize whether your child needs treatment and wade through the mysteries of exactly what kind. My son has never been delusional or violent but he HAS experienced a lot of anger with himself for not being “normal.” People with mental illness usually KNOW they are losing who they used to be (just like Alzheimer’s patients) and can’t help hating themselves.
The path that followed has been torturous for us. My husband and I were totally naïve having zero experience with mental illness. We got him a psychiatrist to treat his depression at $300 a session. We were told he had clinical depression. The meds were ridiculously expensive. Insurance was a joke covering a max of $1200
a year (3 sessions with his doc) and you had to jump through hoops to get through the denials so we never bothered. He never responded to med after med. We went through doctor after doctor searching for help and each one gave us hope and a different diagnosis. We learned that we were really on our own in researching everything we could find out about mental illnesses and WE were the ones who figured out what our son most likely suffered from. Finally, at age 24, he was diagnosed as having what we had finally come to suspect--bi-polar depression, which is treated with an entirely different group of medications. He still has ups and downs and bi-polar is a tough roller coaster ride of experimenting with med combos. The cost has been $100,000 plus and we have spent every dime we have. His meds now cost $500 a month and he’s down to one $150 a month doctor visit. He’s doing reasonably well but we have to accept the fact that this is a life-long struggle. I have no idea how people with less income than we do even try to help their children with mental health issues and we aren’t rich. I see homeless people now in a different light because I recognize mental illness in so many of them and know they have no chance of getting treatment like my son does.
This boy was only 20 and considering what has happened I can’t help thinking he was struggling with schizophrenia which is a whole ‘nuther big scary animal. Seems likely the Aurora shooter and the Arizona/Gabby Giffords shooter were as well, and many of these disorders onset between 16 and 18 and progress from there. If the parents are anything like we were, they were only starting their torturous journey to understand what to do and in the beginning you only know to trust what a patchwork of doctors tell you.
I know many will say I’m sympathizing with a killer. I’m not. What happened today is beyond reprehensible. But we need to see beyond the stigma of mental illness and get better education and resources for parents. We need a REAL mental health system to help those that suffer from these disorders instead of a spotty patchwork of resources. For the safety of all of us.
Automatic weapons are illegal everywhere in the country of which I'm aware. So-called "assault" weapons, large-capacity magazines, etc. are the subject of debate, but they are all semi-automatic. Some of these weapons can be illegally converted to automatic, but I don't think this is really the issue when it comes to shooting a bunch of civilians. Most people would do worse at killing people with an automatic weapon anyway. You can pull the trigger once per round pretty quickly and effectively, and the average person would do it with better control what I'm saying. It's the power and capacity of these guns that are sold legally that is the issue.
Don't know much about mental illness, but I've only heard Asperger's so far about this guy. I know I've voted based on health care reform (I'm for single payer) since the '90s.
For what purpose did the mother purchase those guns? "Self protection," obviously. It worked out well, it appears.
Look at those crazy eyes... I'd kill you myself if you were my son! Kill f*cking crazy eyes!
Sorry but I don't feel I can get all that emotional about this latest slaughter - there have been too many to count, almost, and I just can't get all that worked up about it. These firearms-induced slaughters have been going on for decades, and nothing ever changes. It really IS the tool. When you put deadly weapons in the hands of people who are mentally unstable, as this latest gunman seems to be, you should not act "shocked" or "surprised" when they use them to commit unspeakable carnage.
I'm not oppposed to hunters having long rifles, though for the life of me I can't see what the point of it is -- I get my food supply (like most people) at Safeway and Costco. And I also am not naive enough to think that all homicides can ever be totally prevented -- America is an incredibly violent society, and that's not likely to change. But if unlawful killings can never be entirely prevented, they also do not need to be facilitated or made easier to accomplish by putting deadly weapons in the hands of people who very clearly in hindsight should never have had access to them.
If this seems callous or cynical or uncaring, I'm sorry but I'm kind of beyond caring - this actually affects me very deeply, if I let it. And I'm simply tired of getting emotionally worked up about these massacres - especially when they keep happening over and over and over again. And there's a reason why that is the case, one which hundreds of millions of Americans quite simply refuse to face or care about. There's an old saying that holds that "If you keep doing what you've always been doing, you'll keep getting what you've always been getting." And to the rest of the world, there is a simple and fundamental lesson which the United States seems simply determined NOT to learn - namely, if you put deadly weapons in the hands of people who are mentally unstable, great carnage will probably result.
This is not a 'new' argument. I still recall the column about the need for gun control that was written by famed Chicago columnist Mike Royko concerning the shooting of President Reagan by certifiable nutbar John Hinckley -- in 1981.
Half of all of the firearms-related massacres that have occurred in the United States, have happened since 2007. Once upon a time, they had the power to shock and horrify us. Nowadays, we seem to have to number them.
There is one overarching constant, though, in all of them: firearms.
If you take a hammer and pound away on the business end of an artillery shell, sooner or later, as certain as night follows day, it will go off.
If you give a handgun or rifle to someone who suffers from mental health issues, who is paranoid, who is homicidal, who is suicidal, who suffers from anger management issues, that firearm is probably eventually going to go off, and you will probably be very upset with the results.
You know full well what the problem is. You simply refuse to do anything about it.
Which, makes all the distraught tears about the latest massacre somewhat hypocritical.
After all - you know what the problem is.
And if it really bothered you that much -- you would fix it.
Let's face it, schools need to be better protected. Small towns are not immune to anything anymore. If we learn anything from this, it should be that we need to guard the children better. People need to be stopped in the parking lots, cars checked and provide a verifiable reason for being there. Adults need to be patted down before they enter a school building. They should be escorted in by a security guard. Metal detectors should be used just like they do for the airports. Lockers should be routinely gone through. Teachers need to have more training to spot trouble and schools should have panic rooms. Adults should watch other adults in schools. There is no more trust. We can no longer afford to trust. We guard Banks and Businesses but lapse when it comes to guarding our precious children. We are becoming hardened to killings. We can't afford to believe in our fellow man/woman to do the right thing. Freedom doesn't mean to be unsafe and unprepared for bad things. No one is innocent anymore.
You're a fu*king jacka$$ who doesn't have kids in school. No amount of security would keep any parent or child from doing this. The answer is gun control. Take away your guns and we can control this criminal jacka$$ery. Criminals do not assault kindergarten children! Fu*k you and the NRA! Fu*k You! Your days are numbered!
Oh yeah, Fu*k You and the NRA your days are numbered!
You talking to me? I do have kids in school. And you sound pretty sick yourself.
Public schools under attack from republican money grabbers - no money for education none-the-less armed security guards. Where do you think all of your security is gonna come from? Huh Jack A$$? You're right we can't afford to believe in the NRA to do the right thing any longer, GUNS DON'T PROTECT PEOPLE, THEY KILL PEOPLE, THEY KILL KIDS! Yea, I'm talkin' to you!
I think parents would gladly pay for extra security. I definitely would. Why do you have to call me a Jack Ass? At least I came up with some credible solutions. All you can do is say F*k you. I never said I was for guns. How old are you and does your momma know you are up this late?
Stop the hate.
Parents with kids in public schools can't pay for the luxury of the security of private schools, or charter schools for that matter. Where do you live? 'cause here any parent can buzz right in and do whatever. If you don't want to be a jacka$$ you have to acknowledge the reality that this is your school - no amount of publicly funded, public school security would have stopped this massacre.
My kids go to public school and my family has always gone to public schools. You proved my point by saying any parent can buzz right in and do whatever. That should be stopped right away. No it wouldn't have stopped this massacre but it could stop a copy cat killer. At least make it harder for them and have less to gain from it. How many nut jobs are out there right now thinking about all the attention this guy got. There are alot of people who crave attention any way they can get it.
Don't ignore the reality that republicans want to kill the public school system, and budget cuts already in effect would never include the protection of our children. Changes need to be made that these fu*kwads can understand. Hit them in the guns and they will listen! The time for nice talk was long ago.
Whoa, hey, why all the hate? I thought you people were supposed to be all about "tolerance".
I guess that doesn't apply to people who dare to think differently than you.
There is always a way for parents in a community to to drum up money. Charities, churches, grants, collections, investors, businesses, volunteers. Say yes instead of no. I would never leave the protection of kids up to a politician. I have never counted on a politician for anything in my life. Do you think nut jobs worry about politics.....oh wait, I guess there are plenty of nut jobs in the Democrat, Tea Party and Republican parties.
YOU PEOPLE? What kind of people are you referring to? People that bleed red blood?
@ t&f, you definitely don't have kids in public school and are totally oblivious to the challenges of public school systems around the country. "Charities, churches, grants, collections, investors, businesses, volunteers" who do you think you're kidding? Yes, I called you a jac*a$$ and I meant it.
Yes I do have kids in public school but what do you care? I live in one of the poorest cities in this country. I never said that the schools or politicians would pay for all the extra security. What, people in your area never have fund raisers? You never heard of community watch groups? You never heard of people doing for themselves? Politicians are the only ones that give out money? What makes you an expert on public schools around the country? I called you sick and I meant it.
Fundraisers can't squeeze money from a a lower income family... that, I know from my experience doing fundraisers at private and public schools. Additionally, fundraisers do not fund teachers or security or additional faculty members in our school district. Those monies must come from the school district taxes - the target of republican politics. No community "watch group" or "people doing for themselves" could have stopped this attack in our OWN SCHOOL! What is it that you don't get about this? This is a national issue! If that makes me sick then I'm sick to fix this problem of kid's getting gunned down doing things that kids do... go to school, go to movies etc. If some psycho gun sympathizer wants to kill his own children then that's his right(I guess) in America, but I'll not stand for my kids being subject to your kids psychotic rampage with your gun! If that makes me sick then, too G*d damned bad!
Never said it would have stopped this attack. Nor did I say to fund teachers or faculty members. Additional security can and does come from various outside sources. I know low income families and middle class families that will sacrifice to protect their kids. The money would have to come from several sources not just fund raisers. We are not a third world country. We have built buildings, playgrounds and community gyms/swimming pools in my area without politicians help. If you think we are going to fix this on a national level you are dreaming. It has to come from the local level or it will never get done. Just look at what Congress and the President aren't doing lately. Try reading my statements fully. Stop putting BS in my mouth. I have never owned a gun and your rants of intolerance, ignorance, name calling and hatred are what make you sick. You can only come up with one solution and there is no chance in hell that certain people will let that ever happen. So in other words, you have no solution at all but to call people Jack Ass. You will never fix anything. You are ineffective and impetent.
Look Tar, there are lots of possible ways to legislate control of the gun industry. Everyone knows that if you ask for something little the opposition will whittle it down to nothing and put a rubber stamp on it. In the end nothing will change. President Obama has already proven to republicans that when you aim for the top, a compromise in the middle is something real. Asking the public to do the work of the government is an insult to those gunned down on friday morning. This must come from the top. Republican bilking of public funds have left school districts venerable academically and open to invasion. I'm not interested in hearing any longer about ways to raise funds with a bake sale for school security or whatever the hell is your lame idea and I don't even care about the 2nd amendment anymore. Those guns, whatever guns you buy today and the so-called "well regulated militia" are no match for the firepower of the US military. THE 2ND AMENDMENT IS IRRELEVANT TODAY. Has no one paid attention to the ground battles we've been fighting in the middle east! The only thing that will have a real impact is a concerted effort between legislators and law enforcement. And BTW, it's IMPOTENT.
Sad. Another case of a disturbed kid due to a broken family. God bless everyone.
Another case of dead kids due to easily available guns. Yeah, god's gonna help alot.
and the horse ... Love the dialogue. You have the command of the English language that indicates you are a unionized school teacher. Sure you resent not being able to send your kids to a private school but if you're an example of the family's intellect and academic ability then they are definately public school material. You blame guns. How about the fact that this kid was severely mentally disturbed with "autism". Besides why should I pay again and again for the losers in public school, when I can assure my kids future for far less money in a private setting. You load up your public school with your autistic darlings and overpaid school teachers - average drop out rate is %30 after years of steadily funding increases that do not pay for instruction but marble hallways for "self esteem".
Another case of dead kids due to yet another violent deranged DemoKKKrat with stolen guns.
Hair splitting, republican tool. No gun, no dead kids. Simple.
All the victims were already unarmed.
And the murderer stole the guns he used.
It would appear that your plan isn't working.
You are a moron. Go away now.
...and the horse you rode in on.
Hair splitting, republican tool. No gun, no dead kids. Simple.
tell that to the 22 kids in china that were assaulted with a knife