THE DEVIL'S DEED (PART II OF III)

Just before 9:35 am, morning announcements were being read to the students of the school over the intercom. Principal Dawn Hochsprung was in a meeting with school psychologist Mary Sherlac and lead teacher Natalie Hammond in a conference room by the front offices.  School custodian, Rick Thorne was making his morning rounds up and down the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary School.



Around this same time, a mid-2000’s model Honda Civic pulled in the parking lot of Sandy Hook Elementary school. The car was parked in the fire lane in front of the school like the occupant had important business at the school, but it was definitely not supposed to be there. You see, this car belonged to Nancy Lanza and was being driven that Friday morning by Adam Lanza.

Nancy Lanza's Car Driven by Adam Lanza the Morning of the Shooting

Adam Peter Lanza was born on April 22^nd, 1992 in Exeter, New Hampshire to Peter and Nancy Lanza.

Nancy Lanza

Peter Lanza

Adam Lanza

Growing up, Adam was always a quiet, withdrawn child who rarely interacted with others, such as classmates. He was never in trouble with the law, and was rarely in trouble in school, but he still caused worry to the adults and children around him. He was the “weird” kid and there was no getting around that fact. He did not fit into social norms and that was difficult for others to deal with. 

He attended Sandy Hook Elementary School for a time, but was then moved to St. Rose of Lima Catholic School. At around age sixteen, Adam was withdrawn from high school and was home schooled by his parents to earn his GED. The excuse for Adam being taken out of high school was his mother not agreeing with the education of the public-school system in regards to her son.  

Not long after, he started attending Western Connecticut State University in 2008-2009. His social norms hadn’t gotten any better by this time and he still had a difficult time engaging with peers and other adults.  Those who knew him in college stated that Adam was “intelligent, but nervous and fidgety.”

Adam was no stranger to mental health issues. As early as elementary school, Adam had already been diagnosed with sensory-integration disorder, a disorder where the stimuli of the environment are not processed correctly. 

The next diagnosis Adam received was Asperger’s Syndrome (now called Autism Spectrum Disorder [DSM-5]) when he was just thirteen-years-old. 

Later in his adolescence, Adam was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). 

Adam was put on a treatment regimen that included a two-pronged approach that included behavioral therapy and pharmaceutical help from an antidepressant called Celexa®. As with school, Adam’s mother had an excuse why the treatment was unnecessary for him and she withdrew him from treatment, both therapy and medication. Adam’s father even feared that his son had some form of undiagnosed schizophrenia.

Investigation of Adam Lanza after the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre showed that he, for at least some time, had been fascinated with mass shootings. He was particularly interested in the attack on Columbine High School in 1999. 

He seemed to be a highly paranoid individual, and disturbed based on evidence gathered after Adam’s suicide. The windows of his bedroom were covered with black plastic garbage bags. Further investigation revealed that Adam wouldn’t allow his mother to bring a Christmas tree into the house, wouldn’t eat unless his meals were prepared a certain way and placed a certain way, and he had resorted to communicating with his mother only by e-mail a while before his death. 

Adam Lanza's Bedroom

In the years preceding the school massacre, Adam had discontinued contact with his father (who had been divorced from Nancy for some time), and his brother. After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Ryan Lanza was brought in for questioning and later released because Adam had Ryan's identification on him and there was a mix-up as to who the shooter was.

Ryan Lanza

Adam, it seems had grown up in a culture of guns and owning multiple guns. After the shootings, there were multiple firearms found in the home and thousands of rounds of ammunition, clips, swords, and other various weapons.

Photo of Adam Lanza as a Child with Multiple Weapons

Clips and Ammo Found in Desk Drawer in Lanza Home

Clips and Ammo Found in Lanza Home

Clips Found in Lanza Home

Swords Found in Lanza Home

To make it clear, growing up with weapons in the home did not make Adam Lanza commit the heinous crime that he did. I myself, grew up with multiple firearms in the home and have never thought of or attempted to shoot anyone. I have a deep respect for guns and I think they are awesome. 

I am a proponent of the second amendment, but with checks and balances of course. Through legal channels, it is a right to own a gun. But at the time of the shooting, Adam wasn't even old enough to carry or own a handgun, though when his body was discovered, he had two handguns on him, one of which he used to take his own life.

So, do we blame a plethora of weapons around him all his life, or his mental health problems, or both? What was the recipe for the disaster of monument proportions that Adam Lanza perpetrated on innocent people? The mystery is still, what elements combined to create this storm that would end the lives of nearly thirty people?

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this post…