Adam Lanza was bullied while he attended Sandy Hook Elementary, family member says

[DonViejo]

EXCLUSIVE: Newtown shooter Adam Lanza taunted and beaten by fellow students when he attended Sandy Hook Elementary School, relative reveals

Lanza’s mother considered suing the school after teachers turned a blind eye to physical and verbal attacks from his classmates, a family member claims.

BY MATTHEW LYSIAK AND LARRY MCSHANE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

PUBLISHED: SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013, 7:17 PM
UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2013, 2:00 AM

Newtown killer Adam Lanza’s mother considered suing Sandy Hook Elementary School after teachers turned a blind eye to beatings from his classmates, a family member claims.

The relative, speaking to the Daily News, claimed that mass murderer Lanza was taunted and attacked by fellow students at his childhood alma mater.

“Nancy felt fiercely protective of him,” the relative said. “She was convinced the school wasn’t doing enough to protect Adam. It made her irate.”

Nancy Lanza — gunned down by her 20-year-son to start his Dec. 14 rampage — even tagged along with Adam to school in an effort to catch his classmates in the act of assaulting him. “Adam would come home with bruises all over his body,” the relative said. “His mom would ask him what was wrong, and he wouldn’t say anything. He would just sit there.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/exclusive-lanza-mom-mulled-lawsuit-article-1.1315985#ixzz2QSj4F9Vb

[Politicalboi]

1. So she got him access to guns

To protect him from the bullies past and present. Cowards. Why didn't he get up enough guts to shoot the assholes who bullied him. Oh that's right, they're grown up too. Easier to pick on children. Again, I wish that mother was alive to see what she created.

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. I doubt he was coming home with bruises in FIRST GRADE, in any case

I don't find the whole story that plausible at all, in fact. The kids who described him in high school (kids actually in school with him) never mentioned it. The idea that this guy was getting lumped up on a regular basis in elementary school doesn't really pass the smell test for me. It's clear he was withdrawn, probably severely autistic, and certainly not Mr. Popular. Whether he was getting regular beatings is another question, and certainly hasn't been demonstrated by this particular article.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Go tell these parents you think elementary school bullying is a

myth. Tell them about your 'smell test' and all.

"O'Neill said his son was punched during a bullying incident at recess at Darby Township School on January 10. He said Bailey, a 6th grader, suffered a fractured nose, a concussion and seizures from the attack. Two weeks after the incident, he was placed in a medically induced coma.

Bailey's parents wanted him to see his 12th birthday. The next day, on Sunday, they took him off life support."
www.cnn.com/2013/03/05/justice/pennsylvania-student-death

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. Well, I'm not denying that bullying an assaults *happen*

In elementary school in general, so I'm not sure I follow your point. I do hope your seeming anger here is not some holdover from other conversations, in any case. We can probably discuss subjects like this with some civility, yes?

[Brickbat]

2. So sad all around. I wish it were easier for people to get help, and to see the paths that are

available to get help. Bullying awareness was only just starting to start up when he was in school, I suppose. Terribly sad.

[hobbit709]

3. Lots of us got bullied. Most of us learned to deal with it without shooting everyone in sight.

[Fawke Em]

8. Most of us don't have deveopmental difficulties, either.

Lanza had some form of Asperger's, which probably hindered his ability to deal with the outside world in the normal way.

[hobbit709]

11. I had my own difficulties.

I was a stranger in a strange land from an early age.

[Spider Jerusalem]

40. Fucksake

I have Asperger's. I was bullied in school. I have mild PTSD as a result. I never went and got a gun and killed anyone because of it, though. I really wish that people would stop making some connection between Lanza having an autistic spectrum disorder and his violent acts; it's not helpful and, as someone with an autistic disorder, it's offensive. The majority of people with an autistic disorder are not violent. See this and this, for instance.

[AngryOldDem]

61. How many times does this need to be said here??

I have a son who has Asperger's. While he certainly has his rough moments, he is NOT violent and would never act out at others. He is on medication and has regular counseling sessions.

This is just the kind of shit that makes life much more difficult than it has to be for those who have it. It is definitely NOT helpful.

[Fawke Em]

80. I was actually defending you!

My point is that Lanza had a developmental disability the his mother ignored.

For FUCK'S SAKE, learn how to deal with the fact that some of us know the problem was the mother who didn't get help for the son who was bullied.

I wasn't blaming Asperger's... I was blaming the mother. I am a mother. I can do that.

[Jamastiene]

82. They seem to have built their conclusions around whatever they want to think

based on one gunman's actions. It is horrendous when they do that, but it happens a lot here. I gave up even trying to educate most of them a while ago.

People with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence than the perpetrators of violence also, but try telling that to the one track mind of DU. I'm sorry to hear yet another group is being maligned and falsely lumped into the mass murdering fuckhead category because we may share one single descriptor with said fuckhead.

I know enough people with Asperger's and autism to know that those who are lumping all of y'all in with mass murderers and violence is bullshit. I wish more would listen and quit making stuff up.

Yes, it is truly offensive and I am sorry you have to endure their horrid, FALSE insinuations.

[loyalsister]

87. + 100

The collective elements that made up that young man's world form a condition few of us can begin to understand. There has been no solid dx of Autism or Asperger's. Only speculation. What is clear is that his mother was negligent when it came to guns. Given that I have to wonder if she had any interest in parenting. The relationship with the dad has not come off as one that was highly functional. Teenagers with no family support or parental guidance obviously don't have much of a supportive environment at an age where they need it most.

There is no telling what was happening with him. It is BS to pull out a disorder and blame it all on that rather than doing the hard work in trying to understand what influences were actually there.

[DonCoquixote]

51. I have Asberger's

And I was bullied, but I did not go shoot up my school. Then again, my parents knew when to give me things, and when not to.

[Fawke Em]

81. That was my point. Thank you.

[AgingAmerican]

54. I remember one girl in Jr High who was tormented

A group of jock types would endlessly torment her because she wore coke bottle bottom glasses. Guys would refuse to sit next to her in class, when she walked down the hallway they would scatter coughing and holding their noses as if she smelled. I always felt so sorry for her. The school never did anything about it. Other girls never stuck up for her. She wasn't there in the 9th grade, she had withdrawn. I really cannot blame her. She was ruthlessly tormented, psychologically tortured, and this was at a formative age when you are super self conscious about everything. Still makes me sick thinking about it.

There are varying levels of bullying. I was bullied a little, but not tormented like she was.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. I can think of 20 first grade children who didn't bully him, just off the top of my head

Just sayin'...

[zappaman]

21. I wish I could REC this post.

Well stated.

[Pale Blue Dot]

35. Yep.

[Initech]

5. And a motive is emerging.

I was bullied in high school but that doesn't make me want to go out and buy a gun and start shooting. What Lanza's mother did was recklessly irresponsible and she should have got him the mental health care he needed rather than have him snap and do something this horrific.

[MichiganVote]

6. "bruises all over his body". Yeah, so they say. I think this is highly improbable.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Me too

See my post 9 above. Point bank: I don't believe this story at all.

[MichiganVote]

12. Thank you. When I saw I had a message I expected the usual-schools are to blame meme.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

14. If my child were being "assaulted" at school, the police...

would be involved. Surely there's a record. I want to know more about this "relative" making the allegations, because my bullshit detector went off, big-time. Sounds like s/he has some sort of ax to grind against public schools.

[Sgent]

29. I don't remember bruises

so much in 1st grade, although I was bullied.

Definitely by 3rd grade, along with needing x-rays and medical treatment for ligament damage.

I've learned to deal with it, but it took a lot of time. Don't underestimate what this could have done to someone's psyche -- especially one who has developmental disorders. Personality disorders as well as other issues could be the result.

[MichiganVote]

38. One-one relative has asserted this w/o any verification post the murder of 26 people.

And its about 20 years too late. If that's all it takes for you to believe in something, you are vulnerable to believing in nothing at all.

[LanternWaste]

77. I don't think that accepting his being bullied is in any way justifying his later actions,

I don't think that accepting his being bullied is in any way justifying or rationalizing his later actions.

It seems to me that allowing ourselves to see as much of the life of a person who did this could allows us additional and relevant information as to why many people feel compelled to violently act out their rage or violence or loneliness or despair.

[MichiganVote]

79. Maybe he was just nuts.

[usGovOwesUs3Trillion]

7. This is why just as much effort needs to go into anti-bullying programs as gun control

I can't believe anti bullying programs are even controversial

[AngryOldDem]

62. Something else would have set him off.

Poor (and late) attempt to excuse what he did. The kid was mentally ill, and apparently those who were around him chose to turn a blind eye, but yet allowed him access to a fucking arsenal. End of of story.

[radicalliberal]

88. A lot of adults, including some "progressives" (in other words, even a few DU members), . . .

. . . condone bullying in the schools. They have no problem with it at all, especially when the students are "popular." Some people even believe bullying is socially beneficial -- you know, culling the herd.

[Jenoch]

13. I don't doubt that he

was bullied in grade school. Kids can be cruel to others who are different from themselves.

This story repeats a something about he shooting that is not true. Lanza was not wearing a 'bullet-proof' vest (an inaccurate term). He was wearing a tactical vest which means a vest with a bunch of pockets.

[Robb]

22. That is a claim only made by right-wing tinfoil hat sites.

Aurora's chief of police noted he was wearing armor and a tactical vest. The notion you inexplicably cling to is promoted by only the nuttiest of the "Sandy Hook was a false flag" assholes.

[WinniSkipper]

25. Aurora was Holmes and CO, nt

[Jenoch]

26. I'm no "right-wing Sandy Hook was a false flag" believer.

I am however, interested in the facts of the case. Do you have information and a link that provides details contrary to what I have posted?

http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2012/12/28/news/doc50ddc8b8e8a5c084913127.txt

"Adam Lanza went into the Sandy Hook Elementary School wearing a utility vest, not a bullet proof vest, state police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said Thursday.

“It was a fishing type vest, a jacket with a lot of pockets; it was not a bullet-proof vest,” Vance said."

http://mobile.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/12/20/the-other-loophole-bulletproof-armor-newtown-guns

"Connecticut state police originally said Adam Lanza was wearing a bulletproof vest. State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance now says he was wearing a utility vest."

[Robb]

33. You are right; I stand corrected.

Too little attention paid on my part; the Aurora shooter's vest/armor status has been called into question vehemently by the worst sorts, not Lanza's.

I apologize; but that we had fewer of these to confuse.

[CokeMachine]

50. Robb is not the god of the gun control debate.

Go figure. But he still has that god power in his little echo chamber. One person blocked in the RKBA group is not getting close to 20 in a two month old group where he hosts. Again, go figure. Maybe before you try to act like an authority you migh want to check facts -- maybe not.

Cool stories Bro!!

[Hoyt]

58. So says you, supporter of all things guns.

[Hoyt]

66. Proud to have been excluded from your gun club.

[CokeMachine]

67. It's always good to be proud of your accomplishemnts.

Take Care -- I'm off to play golf and then maybe go to the range.

[Hoyt]

68. Got your targets that resemble humans?

[CokeMachine]

69. Shows where your mind is. I meant the driving range.

The shooting range is closed on Mondays -- LEO and Coast Guard get the range on Mondays.

Have a great day

[KittyWampus]

15. He committed suicide and took revenge while doing it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Nah, won't alert it

As somebody who was bullied I want the rest to see this disgusting post.

[radicalliberal]

90. For the record, alphafemale is on record as condoning bullying in mandatory P.E.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1273952

She manifests an extremely callous attitude -- an attitude I'd expect to see on the part of RWs. So, I'm not surprised by her disgusting post. Consider the source.

Speaking as a committed health club member who has spent a small fortune on physical trainers, I must say her views on mandatory P.E. are incredibly ignorant, even reactionary. People like her promote bullying, inadvertently or not.

[nadinbrzezinski]

91. Thanks

[radicalliberal]

92. You're welcome!

I'm sick and tired of all the people who support compulsory sports in mandatory P.E. I'm utterly amazed that even some "progressives" spout this incredibly ignorant position -- which, in effect, mandates some of the worst bullying in the schools. Anytime anyone says P.E. should be mandatory for all students K through 12, these people react like sheep and give their assent without any thought at all, with the end result that the lives of nonathletic kids are made miserable. Traditional P.E. promotes only sports (as if that's even necessary in a society whose popular culture is saturated with sports), not physical fitness. Especially for the sedentary kids. For the record, there is one P.E. program I enthusiastically support; namely, PE4Life, which is an honest-to-goodness exercise program that does not set the more athletically inclined kids against the nonathletes.

I'm not a sedentary guy today. Far from it! I have worked with personal trainers at a local health club for about five years. I have considerably more muscular development now than I ever had when I was young. I love workouts, but I hated P.E.! In other words, I know what works and what doesn't work for nonathletic boys from my own personal experience.

I'll try to keep this brief: Forcing boys who have no interest in sports to participate in team sports in mandatory P.E. DOES NOT WORK! The best way to get in shape is by getting on an exercise program. There is not a single sport that exercises all the muscles of the body. A sport is a physical contest utilizing certain physical skills. It is not an exercise program.

The history of mandatory boys' P.E. is absolutely shameful. The "old P.E." was always a bully's paradise. The nonathletes usually didn't get any exercise. I certainly didn't! As I've said repeatedly in different forums at different websites, I get more exercise in a single workout session with my personal trainer than I ever did in an entire YEAR of mandatory P.E. (Since I'm a guy, I know little about girls' P.E.)

This is not the place for me to go into a lot of detail about this issue. But I'm sick and tired of "progressives" who continue to support compulsory sports -- which does NOT promote physical fitness, but DOES promote some of the worst bullying in the schools.

For the record (before I'm personally attacked by some sports fans), I'm not denigrating anyone's preference for sports. (Of course, those who favor compulsory sports in the schools ARE most definitely imposing THEIR preference upon nonathletic kids to their detriment and hurt.) I do not favor the removal of team sports from the schools or, for that matter, the "old P.E." as an ELECTIVE. I'm far more generous towards the sports crowd than they've ever been to nonathletic boys.

To borrow a certain notorious campaign slogan from the 1964 presidential election: In my heart I know I'm right!

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. My, I expected some denial but this is impressive.

Not justifying his actions, but guess what? This is why bully behavior should become zero tolerance for it.

[Robb]

23. A mother who doesn't report or document bruises from school beatings?

Next we'll hear she bought him a bunch of guns. Mother of the year, eh?

[geek tragedy]

24. Clutching at straws, trying to deflect blame from the villain of their own bloodline. nt

[graham4anything]

27. It is why 100% of all guns/bullets in the hands of private citiizens need to be gone.

After the 2nd is reinterpreted with a new court.

The mass killings just could not have happened any other way that a regular person can easily do like with guns.

Either with them gone, or with ultra security in the streets to stop it, which only work when all guns are not allowed no matter legal or illegal.

The little kids had nothing to do with his problems

[Jenoch]

30. What plan do you have

to reach your goal of removing all guns and ammunition from private ownership in the United States?

What have you done so far to achieve your lofty goal?

[graham4anything]

32. Elect Hillary Clinton and change the US Supreme Court in the next 10 years

then reinterpret the 2nd

btw, that might be accomplished by overdoing what the NRA themselves does-
they seem to have inserted a poison pen amendment into the new bill, therefore making the new fed law overrule the state law of the states with great gun control.

Now, that will require at some point, a ruling down the road apiece.

At which time, hopefully 5 of the justices will be like the superb Elena Kagen, and the even better Sonia Sotomayer.

All it takes is ONE

and a reinterpretation of the reinterpetatoin will occur.

Then all soundbytes of the past by the NRA suits will be vanquished as obsolete

Keeping my eye on the long term price
Operation Neptune took many waves, but the battle was won, the day O.N. begun
even though much collateral damage happened before the war was one

[Jenoch]

47. If Secretary Clinton were

to run with the confiscation of guns in the U.S. as part of her campaign she would not even have enough support to last until the Iowa caucuses let alone the New Hampshire primary.

[AgingAmerican]

55. Doubtful she would campaign on it

She just has to appoint sane judges.

[Jenoch]

57. Of course i understand that.

I was attempting the impossible and getting graham to understand something with which he disagrees.

[Hoyt]

59. Might as well start now, before gun nuts buy up another 100 million of the dang things

over the next decade.

[Lizzie Poppet]

34. Thanks so much for your advocacy...

...of something that would leave someone like me (5'3", 109 lbs) either comparatively defenseless or reliant on a "big, strong man" for protection. How progressive of you...



Fortunately, this will never, ever happen.

[graham4anything]

36. Against what? A gun never saved anything, but bullets have killed millions.

Last edited Sun Apr 14, 2013, 10:02 PM - Edit history (1)

So exactly what will a gun do for you?

That is the one argument any pro-gun person never says.
How a gun can save anyone???

All guns do is kill something or someone.

and every single mass shooting that is preplanned seems to come with a legal gun.

Guns in the hands of private people are not liberal.


edit the title because title.
Thanks to my buddy for showing me the typo, I have edited it.
Librarians would be proud, and I love librarians. They make the world.

[Lizzie Poppet]

37. On the contrary.

It's not nearly as common as some gun rights advocates like to claim, but defensive gun usages absolutely exist.

That is the one argument any pro-gun person never says.

If you actually believe that, then you have an absolutely astonishing capacity for only hearing what you want to hear.

How a gun can save anyone???

By scaring off or shooting a criminal assailant. Um...duh.

All guns do is kill something or someone.

Demonstrably false.

[graham4anything]

39. A sign outside the home saying Gun inside does the same thing

If one is asleep at 3am in the morning, and the perp is inside, there is zero time to get a gun
(which the nra says is safely locked away so noone can wrongly use it.)

Where is the reaction time if the perp is there?

And if there are more than one, how can one get two?

And, say the Mafia breaks into your place.If you shoot the Mafia, they will return.
Like the person who accidentally ran over a kid of one years ago found out.
Supposedly that person ended up in an acid vat.

Bullets do not do anything but shoot.

Every NRA soundbyte has been debunked a zillion times over.

Hunters can use bow and arrow.
I used to think that once the are removed from street, they could be kept in homes

But homes have arguments. And homes have windows and an innocent can be shot through the wall.

I have had bears on my lawn (cute black bears are common in NJ). Not once would I wish to harm it. It is their land after all. And they are vegetarians anyhow.
All they want to do is live in peace.

[Lizzie Poppet]

41. All that would do is say, in effect, "burglarize my home when I'm away."

As for the 3AM intruder part, if someone manages to get inside my home without me waking up, then they've performed a near-miracle. I'm a light sleeper, wake up alert, and always lock my home. If they can pull that off, then perhaps it was just my time. Of course, even if they do get inside, they'll still have to get up the stairs and into my bedroom without me waking up.

More than one? My home defense weapon has a ten round magazine, with a spare near at hand. Plenty for all but the most preposterously contrived scenario.

Oh, and bears aren't vegetarians. They're omnivores. But like you, I have no desire to shoot one. I don't hunt...it's not my thing.

[graham4anything]

42. Back in NYC in the late 70s

people (not me) put up gates and bars over all the doors and windows.

Only thing that did was, cause some people to die in a fire when they were trapped inside
and the fire department could not get inside quick enough.

The people in those houses, ironically enough, put themselves in prison.

when one relies on a gun, there is always a gunslinger faster.

Most burglers/robbers want quick in, quick take, quick exit
No material item is worth it.

There are stories daily of people asleep who end up shooting a friend or relative in the haze of sleep, or someone playing a practical joke.
Or a dog or cat.

As for the sign, why have protection if one doesn't publicize it? Isn't the point to get the perp to go to a different house?
And any perp can keep track of people's coming and goings and do the same.

How does a perp robbing a house with no one inside get stopped by a gun if no oneis home and there is a sign?

And if the gun is inside, and no one is home, then the perp robs the house and takes the gun.
There is the passage between legal and illegal.

[Jenoch]

48. You get the burglar

to go to another house with lighting, alarms, locks, and activity. You attract burglars by allowing them to know you have guns in your house. If you don't understand that then you have zero credibility for your side of the issue.

[Jasana]

83. As a 5'3" 110 lb woman who has never carried a gun...

I say shut up and let her have her gun. It's not up to me to tell her how to feel safer. It's not up to you either.

[apocalypsehow]

84. I say no - she doesn't need "her"* gun. "She"** needs to get into the civilized world and call

the police in encounters with criminal elements.

On a side note: you're not really foolin' anybody, know it?

*( )

**( )

[Jasana]

86. I honestly don't understand your post...

I am a 5'3" 110 lb woman who was brought up in East Boston in between a Mafia nightclub (411 Club in Day Square) and a Mafia social club and have never carried a gun.

I'm not arrogant enough to tell women where they should live (or afford to live) or what they should do to feel safe. You shouldn't either.

What's with all the eye rolling and you're not fooling anybody stuff?

[TimberValley]

44. "Bullets have killed billions?"

You had better cite some facts to support this claim.



Even the entire death toll of World Wars I and II - which includes deaths from bomb explosions, etc. as well as bullets - probably didn't exceed 150 million.



Don't just make up stuff.

[graham4anything]

45. typo. Millions.Glad you caught it, spell check missed it. Will change it. Thanks buddy!

[Jenoch]

49. Was it a typo,

or was it hyperbole?

[Hoyt]

64. Millions or billions -- it's still way too friggin many. Gawd you gun guys crack me up.

Last edited Mon Apr 15, 2013, 09:24 AM - Edit history (1)

[Jenoch]

78. Glad I could be of service.

And please don't call me Gawd.

[JI7]

28. i don't believe this, looks like they are trying to take blame away from him or bring

some sympathy to him and/or his mother.

[daveMN]

43. To all those above who doubt Adam Lanza was bullied

you must be disconnected from reality or something.

Obviously, it doesn't excuse his crime. It should go without saying that nothing anyone may have done to him could justify what he did. If you think the family is trying to deflect blame, fine, but it doesn't really matter now. In fact, I always just assumed he was bullied.

Do you really believe that a quiet, odd kid who apparently had an autism spectrum disorder or something similar was never bullied in school? Kids can be merciless - all it takes is to be a little different; the more different you are, the more difficulty you have with social skills, the bigger target you become. I can attest - it was always a problem for me, especially in elementary school and junior high; and I was merely a shy, nerdy kid. It happens at every school across the country, elementary, middle, high school, for sure. I was still in school not that long ago, I remember the terms that would get thrown around casually, just to get a laugh. "Retard", "homo", "that's gay", "skank", "dicklick", "douchebag" - even "short bus" and "special education" could be used as insults. (Not saying that I think any of those in particular were targeted at Lanza.) Those only scratch the surface. It's not surprising that whether physical or just verbal, it can leave an emotional scar. Whatever bullying he suffered later on probably only reinforced and intensified his memories from when he went to Sandy Hook.

I do understand the desire to assign blame. I know I am supposed to hate Lanza, or at least his mother. Instead I am just sad. When he was born, it was not necessary that he would one day become a monster - his life could have taken many other paths. I don't know enough about him to say whether he was in control of his actions that day or just completely insane. Along the way he may have made free choices that led him down the wrong path, but it seems to me no mentally stable person could walk into a room and just start killing strangers. The poor parenting is indisputable - but I don't think that means Nancy deserved to die any more than any of the other victims.

It's all just sad - so many lives cut short, so many parents who will have to live with their loss every day for the rest of their lives - for no good reason. (That's where the majority of my sympathy goes.) We Americans have a particular need for moral blame, often even placing the condemnation of "character flaw" on harmless natural differences that we are born with. That is a heavy burden to carry for those who are subject to such treatment. Instead of denying that anything other than guns and Adam and Nancy Lanza could have played a role, we all should make a renewed commitment to understanding people's natural differences and teaching our children to do the same.

[RobinA]

46. Agree

100 percent. No doubt in my mind this kid was bullied. And I do get tired of the right-wing argument, " I was ------, and I never ----ed." That's not how it works.

[DonCoquixote]

52. The right wing argument

There is nothing right wing about those of us with this disorder getting angry when it is hung around our necks as a means fo scapegoating. The reason Adam killed is because his mother gave him guns, trained him to shoot, fed him her survivalist crap, and then never sought proper help, Yes, we must stop bullying, but to accuse people of being right wing when we are fighting the right wing argument "these are just crazy people that need to be locked up" is an insult.

[Lex]

53. Not surprising. And easy access to guns is a problem when inner demons are

eating you up.

[riderinthestorm]

56. The only bottom line to ALL these shootings is easy access to guns. Period.

Mental illness, SSRIs, parental issues, etc etc - whatever!!

The ONLY commonality to ALL of these is easy access to the firepower.

Make the OWNERS of these guns responsible if they are mis-used. If the guns aren't locked up, or are stolen, the owner as well as the perp faces criminal charges as well.

Every gun must be registered. Every sale recorded. And Every gun locked up.

Or YOU do the time too.

[1-Old-Man]

72. Since when is stealing from a family member and shooting your mother "easy access"?

Not to argue too hard against your point, which I agree with for the most part, it is just not correct to say that the boy show shot all those children had easy access to the firearm he used. He did, after all, kill his mother to get the gun and that is hardly what I'd call easy access.

[Kalidurga]

60. Most people that were bullied as children don't take revenge on children 20 years younger...

than they are. Most don't take revenge on anyone. Yes, you do have a lifetime of scars. And when people are bullied they can end up with mental health issues. But, this doesn't sound like an explanation at all or even a motive. I do believe he was bullied. But, one action doesn't necessarily follow the other. I don't think we will ever know the real reason. And it really makes no sense for him to have killed his mother if she had been as much a champion for him as this relative says she was.

I think it's more likely he was trying to put himself on the map of mass murderers and he wanted some kind of fame for a high kill number. I have no idea why anyone would want that and I don't think I will ever understand it.

[madokie]

63. Fact is Adam Lanza took a gun that should not,

let me repeat, should not be in the hands of civilians under any circumstances, especially the ones that are used as an excuse. That type of weapon was designed for the battlefield of which our streets are not. If they are it was those weapons that made that so.
The person who was most responsible was the first one killed in this crime

[smirkymonkey]

70. No excuse.

I don't give a shit what happened to him. What he did to those innocent children and their families is beyond forgiveness.

[1-Old-Man]

71. It was an elementary school, with children between 5 and 12 years old, the shooter was 20

So tell me how those children bullied the shooter. He was an adult, they were little more than infants.

[raccoon]

73. No excuse for the mass murder. Plenty of people are bulllied and don't become mass murderers.

That's assuming that it's true that he was bullied.

[Mr Dixon]

74. IMO

I saw the documentary on Bullying and I must say it was very sad; of course I was bullied too but like everyone else I didn’t flip-out and kill anyone. In the documentary the little boy was bullied on the bus every day, I thought that a quick fix was for the parents to get off their lazy ass and drive him to school problem solved IMO. For the most part when this happened to me I stopped riding the bus and I just walked to school, that was how I solved the school bus bullying. Sometimes you have to put distance between yourself and idiots.

[HappyMe]

75. I don't know.

For one thing, I have my doubts when it is a case of "sources say", "friends said", "relative says".
The other thing is that trying to drum up sympathy for this guy is just plain awful. I can't find any empathy in my heart for somebody that gunned down a bunch of little kids and teachers.

[eissa]

76. So?!

I really don't give a flying fuck. Perhaps if Mom of the Year had intervened early on and reported the alleged "bruising" and taken action instead of buying her little monster guns to play with, all of this could be have been prevented.

[Apophis]

85. I don't buy that at all.