Haunting photos released Monday reveal the Bushmaster rifle used at Sandy Hook Elementary School as well as Adam Lanza's secret arsenal found among personal possessions in his home. His motive remains a mystery.
All of the 5.56 mm shell casings recovered at Sandy Hook Elementary school were found to have been fired from this Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle, which was found on the floor of Room 10 after the shooting spree.
The monster used one of his mother’s guns to unleash hell at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The .223-caliber Bushmaster Model XM15 that Adam Lanza used to murder 20 first-graders and six staffers on Dec. 14 was found beside his body in classroom 10 of the doomed Connecticut school.
WESTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY/AP PHOTO
Adam Lanza slaughtered 20 children and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012.
Lanza used a Glock 20 pistol to finish himself off as cops were closing in.
And that gun, like all the others Lanza had armed himself with, were legally purchased by Nancy Lanza — his mother, his first victim and a woman who catered to his every whim.
JEFF SPOONER/EPA
Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished in November. A new school is expected to open by Dec. 2016.
The shocking photograph of the infamous murder weapon was released Monday along with a much-anticipated, 48-page report on the mass shooting by State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky.
In it, Sedensky revealed that Nancy Lanza was planning to add to the arsenal by buying her unhinged son a new pistol for Christmas — even though he hated the holidays.
SHANNON HICKS/NEWTOWN BEE/AP
Police lead children from the school on the day of the shooting. It was the second deadliest mass shooting by an individual in American history, after the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.
Lanza “disliked birthdays, Christmas and holidays,” the report states. “He would not allow his mother to put up a Christmas tree.”
Nevertheless, Nancy Lanza “prepared a check for that purchase” of a CZ 83-type pistol. It was found in Lanza’s lair after he killed his mother in the master bedroom of the Newtown, Conn., home they shared on Dec. 14 and roared off to commit mass murder at the local school.
RICHARD HARBUS
Lanza's killing spree started in the house he grew up in, when he killed his mother some time before 9:30 a.m.
Sedensky’s summary also revealed, among other things, that Lanza likely didn’t hear the screams of the children because he was wearing earplugs.
CONNECTICUT STATE POLICE VIA GETTY IMAGES
The front entrance at Sandy Hook Elementary School is seen with a front window's shattered glass covering the walls and furniture. Lanza shot his way through the locked door at 9:35 am.
It also revealed that Newtown police believed there was more than one shooter when they arrived about five minutes after the first 911 call came from the school at 9:35 a.m.
Sedensky did not delve into the reasons why Nancy Lanza was bent on buying her mentally ill son what the manufacturer describes as a high-performance “pocket” pistol.
OFFICE OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE'S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY/AP
Lanza took his own life with this Glock 20 after police officers entered the school.
But relatives of the victims could not fathom why she would sow the seeds of her own destruction — and that of 26 other people — by handing her son a gun.
“Yes, we have read the report. No, we cannot make sense of why it happened,” Donna Soto, the mother of slain hero teacher Victoria Soto, said in a statement. “We don’t know if anyone ever will. We don’t know if we will ever be whole again, we don’t know if we will go a day without pain, we don’t know if anything will ever make sense again.”
CONNECTICUT STATE POLICE VIA GETTY IMAGES
The shooter's car was found parked at Sandy Hook Elementary School after the shooting. Inside its trunk, police found this gun along with ammunition.
Sedensky’s summary of the slaughter, released nearly a year after Lanza scripted one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history, contained other horrors. Throughout the report, Lanza was referred to as “the shooter.”
Lanza was obsessed with mass killings — and especially fixated on the April 1999 mass shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
A search inside Adam Lanza's plastic-bag covered bedroom revealed weapons, violent video games, and a fascination on the April 1999 mass shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
But Sedensky did not provide the answer to the question that has been on many minds since the massacre.
“The obvious question that remains is: ‘Why did the shooter murder 27 people (including himself), including 20 children?” he wrote. “Unfortunately, that question may never be answered conclusively, despite the collection of extensive background information on the shooter through a multitude of interviews and other sources.”
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
A gun safe inside a bedroom closet shows a white teddy bear seated above a firearm and ammunition.
It also closes the book on the probe.
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
A photo ID of Lanza is pictured among various items seen inside his home.
“With the issuance of this report, the investigation is closed,” he wrote.
Lanza had been diagnosed in 2005 with Asperger syndrome, an autism-like disorder that is not usually associated with violence.
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
Shotgun shell drums are seen resting on a shelf inside Lanza's home.
Whether this played are role in the Newtown massacre “is unknown,” Sedensky wrote.
“The evidence clearly shows that the shooter planned his actions, including the taking of his own life, but there is no clear indication why he did so, or why he targeted Sandy Hook Elementary School.”
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
A firearm is seen resting on the floor near a book titled, 'Train Your Brain to Get Happy: The Simple Program That Primes Your Gray Cells for Joy, Optimism, and Serenity,' by psychologist Stan Wenck and neuroscientist Teresa Aubele.
Lanza “had significant mental health issues that affected his ability to live a normal life and to interact with others, even those to whom he should have been close.”
The mass killer also had “a familiarity with and access to firearms and ammunition and an obsession with mass murders, in particular the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado,” Sedensky wrote.
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
A rifle taken from Lanza's home. Authorities also found a Christmas check from his mother for him to purchase a CZ 83 firearm.
“Investigators, however, have not discovered any evidence that the shooter voiced or gave any indication to others that he intended to commit such a crime himself.”
Also, Lanza shunned alcohol and any kind of drugs.
CONNECTICUT STATE POLICE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Firearms and ammunition found on or in close proximity to the shooter's body at Sandy Hook Elementary School are seen on what appears to be a tiny school desk after their collection from the deadly shooting.
Sedenksy said Lanza smashed the hard drive of his computer before going on his killing spree and authorities might never be able to retrieve all the secrets he left there.
AP
Adam Lanza was obsessed by mass killings, especially the 1999 Columbine slayings in Colorado.
But among the “digital evidence” seized was a “five-second video (dramatization) depicting children being shot” and disturbing “images of the shooter holding a handgun to his head.”
There were also “images of hamsters,” “images of Lego creations” and “large amounts of materials on firearms.”
AP
Eric Harris (left), and Dylan Klebold, carrying a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol, killed a teacher and 12 students at Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colo., during their infamous April 20, 1999 shooting rampage. Both gunmen killed themselves later in the school library.
The Connecticut official’s report also offered sickening new insight into the relationship between Lanza and his divorced mom, who taught her son how to shoot.
Lanza had few friends growing up, and there had been reports of him being bullied. In recent years, he cut off all contact with his father and older brother.
AP
Lanza's first shots attracted the attention of Principal Dawn Hochsprung, school psychologist Mary Sherlach and teacher Natalie Hammond. He killed Hochsprung and Sherlach, but only wounded Hammond.
“The mother took care of all of the shooter’s needs,” the report states. “The mother indicated that she did not work because of her son’s condition. She worried about what would happen to the shooter if anything happened to her.”
Nancy Lanza waited on her son hand and foot, the report revealed.
HANDOUT/REUTERS
Nancy Lanza was the first to be killed by her son. Investigators found her with four gunshot wounds to her head.
She was constantly cleaning his clothes because he changed several times a day. She would cook only the specific foods he requested and serve them only on the plates he preferred.
But Lanza would not let his mother into his bedroom and communicated with her only by email, even though they lived in the same house.
HANDOUT/GETTY IMAGES
High-capacity magazines were found in a drawer in the house.
And when Lanza’s mom asked him if he would feel bad if anything ever happened to her, the ungrateful son answered coldly, “No.”
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
The Lanza home was full of clutter.
“The mother explained it by saying that shooter had no emotions or feelings,” the report stated, quoting a friend of the family. The mother also got rid of a cat because the shooter did not want it in the house.”
When cops burst into Lanza’s cluttered lair, they were floored by what he had been hiding. There was, among other things:
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
Investigators found manuals for a variety of firearms in the Lanza home.
• A gun safe with a white teddy bear resting on some ammo.
• A self-help book called “Train Your Brain to Get Happy: The Simple Program That Primes Your Grey Cells for Joy, Optimism, and Serenity.”
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
Bullet-riddled targets were found in Lanza's home.
• News reports on previous school shootings, including the 2008 shootings at Northern Illinois University that killed six.
• A GPS device which revealed that Lanza had driven by other Newtown schools.
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
Used targets were found among Lanza's possessions.
• Photographs of what appear to be a dead human, covered in blood and wrapped in plastic.
• An array of violent video games, including "Grand Theft Auto," "Call of Duty" and "Left 4 Dead."
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
Lanza's video game collection included 'Left4Dead,' 'Grand Theft Auto IV,' '.hack///Sign' and 'Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.'
Lanza killed his mom with a .22-caliber Savage Mark II rifle inside the master bedroom of their family home, according to the report.
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF DANBURY
'Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,' 'Gears of War' and 'Call of Duty 3' were also found in his collection.
At the school, Lanza used a .223-caliber Bushmaster Model XM15 rifle to shoot his way inside and slaughter the innocents.
"All of the killings were done with the Bushmaster rifle," the report states. "He then took his own life with a single shot from a Glock 20, 10-mm pistol in classroom 10."
Police discovered that Lanza was also armed with a Sig Sauer P226, which is a 9-mm. semi-automatic pistol.
There is no evidence that Lanza fired that weapon.
Cops also found an Izhmash Saiga-12, which is a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun, in the trunk of Lanza's car. It too had not been fired.
Sedensky did not release the full report, which is thousands of pages long and outlines all the evidence gathered in the wake of the tragedy. That remains in the hands of the Connecticut State Police.
Sendensky is also fighting attempts by the Associated Press and other news organizations to release the 911 tapes, which are routinely disclosed to the public after an investigation is completed.
Some Newtown residents were disappointed that the report offered no real answers.
"The report doesn't offer an analysis. I also don't understand why it took so long. It doesn't offer anything new," Ziva Bader, 70, said. "It was a mistake to release ... If people weren't affected by it, they may want to read it. But for the families who are affected, it opens wounds all over again.
With Nina Golgowski
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/newtown-shooter-planned-death-obsessed-columbine-article-1.1528626#ixzz2llVTHbxs
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