Just after school began on a Friday morning in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, Adam Lanza opened fire in the main office of Sandy Hook Elementary. What followed was the mass murder of 20 students and 6 staff members (Stroller, Strauss & Stanglin, 2012). A mass murder is defined as “single episodic act of violence, occurring at one time and in one place…where three or more people are killed with no cooling off period between killings” (Kitaeff, 2011, p. 81-82). Investigators estimate that from the time Lanza began shooting until he turned the gun on himself was less than five minutes. Lanza, 20 years old, then turned the gun on himself, he was found dead inside the school. In all, he fired from three weapons, Glock and Sig Sauer pistols as well as an AR-15, military style rifle. Police reported that Lanza first shot his mother in the forehead then drove her car to the school and began firing (Stroller et al, 2012). According to Lanza’s family members he was bullied and ridiculed by other students when he attended Sandy Hook Elementary, citing that revenge may be a possible motivation for the shooting (Ghose, 2012). While the killer did not leave a note indicating his motivation, police found his Sandy Hook Elementary report card at his house next to the open gun safe, adding to speculation that he was still fixated on that time in his life (Daly, 2013). Additionally, both Adam’s brother Ryan and a family friend interviewed after the killing alluding to Adam having a personality disorder that may have caused his rampage. Lanza had a form of autism known as Asperger’s syndrome, and a sensory perception disorder. Asperger’s syndrome is defined as “one of a distinct group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restrictive,
Just after school began on a Friday morning in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, Adam Lanza opened fire in the main office of Sandy Hook Elementary. What followed was the mass murder of 20 students and 6 staff members (Stroller, Strauss & Stanglin, 2012). A mass murder is defined as “single episodic act of violence, occurring at one time and in one place…where three or more people are killed with no cooling off period between killings” (Kitaeff, 2011, p. 81-82). Investigators estimate that from the time Lanza began shooting until he turned the gun on himself was less than five minutes. Lanza, 20 years old, then turned the gun on himself, he was found dead inside the school. In all, he fired from three weapons, Glock and Sig Sauer pistols as well as an AR-15, military style rifle. Police reported that Lanza first shot his mother in the forehead then drove her car to the school and began firing (Stroller et al, 2012). According to Lanza’s family members he was bullied and ridiculed by other students when he attended Sandy Hook Elementary, citing that revenge may be a possible motivation for the shooting (Ghose, 2012). While the killer did not leave a note indicating his motivation, police found his Sandy Hook Elementary report card at his house next to the open gun safe, adding to speculation that he was still fixated on that time in his life (Daly, 2013). Additionally, both Adam’s brother Ryan and a family friend interviewed after the killing alluding to Adam having a personality disorder that may have caused his rampage. Lanza had a form of autism known as Asperger’s syndrome, and a sensory perception disorder. Asperger’s syndrome is defined as “one of a distinct group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restrictive,