Connecticut Elementary School Massacre

[Iamwhomiam]

The very first report I heard (NPR) indicated he had four handguns, though later this was changed to only having two, a Glock and a SIG Sauer pistol, but now that SIG has become a rifle.

[lupercal]

Welp, as I predicted, MSNBC has all the answers anyone might need to make the OCT go down easy:

Isikoff: Lanza's mom said to be 'avid gun collector'
NBC's Michael Isikoff has more on the family of Connecticut shooter Adam Lanza.
msnbc | Aired on December 15, 2012

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc/50209206/#50209206e

Highlights:

1) Perp had an "altercation" with school staff members, now all dead unfortunately, a few days ago.

2) Mother was a major gun nut-survivalist with tons of weapons who liked to take kids shooting. This in suburban CT.

3) Didn't need to work as she collected a $quarter-mil alimony.

And just yesterday she was a beloved teacher devoted to her kindergarten students. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Probably a lesser catastrophe to take our eyes of this one.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

This is absolutely horrific beyond words.

[Iamwhomiam]

Lupe, those who were involved in the earlier altercation at the school are not all dead. One was being interviewed (or trained, depending upon your thinking about this) by the police. 3 of the four school staff involved were killed.

The school was on its regular automatic daily 9:30 am lockdown. The principle, now dead, buzzed him in. Sad as it may be, there is some saving grace in that he doesn't have to live his life out burdened by the memory of what transpired and the ever-nagging thought, "Why did I let him in?"

[justdrew]

Lupe, those who were involved in the earlier altercation at the school are not all dead. One was being interviewed (or trained, depending upon your thinking about this) by the police. 3 of the four school staff involved were killed.

The school was on its regular automatic daily 9:30 am lockdown. The principle, now dead, buzzed him in. Sad as it may be, there is some saving grace in that he doesn't have to live his life out burdened by the memory of what transpired and the ever-nagging thought, "Why did I let him in?"

the principle was a she, and they're saying now he got in before the 9:30 door lock

[Iamwhomiam]

US Shooting: Victims Were Shot Multiple Times

(Photo & videos at linked-to site)

The gunman who massacred 26 children and adults in America's worst school shooting forced his way into the building, police say.

Lieutenant Paul Vance told a news conference that the suspect was not voluntarily let into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton.

Authorities say 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother on Friday, drove her car to the school, then shot 20 children and six adults.

After storming through several classrooms, Lanza, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying two handguns, turned one of the guns he was carrying on himself.

Headteacher Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach both died while attempting to confront the gunman.

"It's believed he was not voluntarily let into the school at all, that he forced his way into the school, but that’s as far as we can go on that," Lt Vance said.

He confirmed that all of the victims have been positively identified, and next of kin informed.
The painstaking investigation of the crime scene itself is ongoing, and likely to continue for a further two days, he added.

When asked whether any emails or notes ad been discovered that could shed light on the gunman's motive, he said "very good evidence" had been found.

"Our investigators at the crime scene, the school and secondarily at the secondary crime scene … did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in hopefully painting the complete picture as to how and more importantly why this occurred."

He said a woman at the school who survived the shooting is doing well and will be a key part of the investigation.

"She is doing fine. She has been treated, and she'll be instrumental in this investigation, as I'm sure you can understand," he said.

Authorities have visited local gun ranges in Connecticut but have found no evidence that the gunman trained for the attack or was an active member of the recreational gun community.

The town's first selectman Patricia Llodra spoke to reporters on behalf of the community.

"Newtown has suffered an horrendous tragedy, a harm that has broken our hearts," she said. "Our wound is deep because we are a close-knit community, we truly care for each other."

Medical examiner Dr H Wayne Carver said all the victims of the shooting were killed up close by multiple rifle shots.

He added that the shooting was the "worst I have ever seen".

President Barack Obama used his weekly address to express his sadness in the wake of the shooting.

"We grieve for the families of those we lost. And we keep in our prayers the parents of those who survived. Because as blessed as they are to have their children home, they know that their child's innocence has been torn away far too early," Mr Obama said.

He also hinted at possible gun law reform, declaring that the latest atrocity signals that the country should come together to take meaningful action, "regardless of the politics".

Meanwhile in Alabama authorities say a man opened fire in a hospital, wounding an officer and two employees before he was fatally shot by police.

Birmingham Police Sergeant Johnny Williams said the injuries suffered by the officer and employees are not threatening.

He said police were called because a man with a gun was walking through St. Vincent's Hospital on Saturday morning.

When he was confronted by officers, he started shooting.

[Iamwhomiam]

Connecticut School Shooting: First on Scene Face Haunting Memories

(Photo & videos at linked-to site)

By KATIE MOISSE (@katiemoisse)
Dec. 15, 2012

Police and paramedics who descended on the scene of the massacre at a Connecticut grade school face haunting memories and nightmares in the days and weeks to come, particularly if they have children of their own, experts say.

Twenty children and seven adults were killed Friday after a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, then killed himself.

"How the first responders react depends on how closely they identify with the victims," said Dr. Charles Marmar, chair of psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. "Let's say somebody has a son or a daughter the same age as the victims -- we know that makes a big difference."

Schwieterman rushed to the scene where he evacuated eight carloads of wounded students.

"It's a grieving process for everyone after this kind of thing, including first responders," said Schwieterman, who sought counseling to cope with the harrowing day. "It took a complete toll on me, and rightfully so."

Schwieterman was not a father at the time, but now has a 10-year-old daughter.

"I just can't imagine," he said of the Newtown shooting. "It rips your heart out."

Experts say first responders are surprisingly resilient, with the vast majority recovering from the stress of a horrific scene within days or weeks.

"But some will continue to have symptoms, and those people will probably benefit from some form of counseling," said Dr. Spencer Eth, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Miami. "Unfortunately, when it comes to police, they sometimes try to act tough even when they're feeling badly, and that's an obstacle to getting the help they need to recover."

The fact that most of the victims in Newtown were children, Eth said, could mean more first responders will need counseling.

"The shock and horror of seeing children killed is more personally distressing than almost any other situation they have to deal with," he said, adding that first responders in many cases are also responsible for notifying families of the deceased. "Having to notify parents of their child's death is among the most difficult things they have to do in their professional lives."

With help, first responders can learn to cope. But they can never forget. Schwieterman, who is now the mayor of Paonia, Colo., still speaks of Columbine with a shaky voice, pausing often to gather himself. And when he heard about the Newtown shooting, he knew his phone would be ringing.

"I've had several family members call and ask if I'm doing OK," he said. "That kind of support helps you through these things.
~~~~~

In the Seattle incident the first officer responding couldn't bear the horrors he encountered and retired on medical disability.

[lupercal]

"It's believed he was not voluntarily let into the school at all, that he forced his way into the school, but that’s as far as we can go on that," Lt Vance said. . . .

When asked whether any emails or notes ad been discovered that could shed light on the gunman's motive, he said "very good evidence" had been found.

Thanks Iam, it will be interesting to see this evidence if it's ever produced, but sadly, I don't think it will, because I don't think there will ever be a trial, because there won't be any call for one. If they can convince the public that AL acted alone, and they don't seem to be having much trouble, who's going to demand a trial? He executed himself on the scene, just like Klebold and Harris at Columbine. Convenient. All the LEOs have to do is produce a credible report at some point and they'll have many months to do that. Until then, they just have to keep their lips zipped "for legal reasons," and I'm sure they will.

[seemslikeadream]

The mother of massacre gunman Adam Lanza who taught son how to shoot before he went on killing rampage
Nancy Lanza, 52, was killed by her son, Adam Lanza, before he massacred 26 people and killed himself at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut
Nancy Lanza once showed off a 'high-end rifle' to family friend Dan Holmes and recalled 'she was proud of it... she loved her guns'
The mother had five guns registered to her name, two of which Adam Lanza used to carry out the execution-style killings
A third gun belonging to Nancy Lanza was found in the back of the car that Adam Lanza drove to Sandy Hook Elementary
Peers remember Adam Lanza as a quiet and extremely intelligent student who kept to himself and carried black briefcase to class
Brother Ryan, 24, an accountant at Ernst and Young, said Adam had personality disorder


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2FAe9NujK

[justdrew]

this poor kid. he's been fucked with his whole life, officially labeled, drugged, called names and hated, 20 and he can't leave home, stuck with his crazy overbearing smothering mother. It's disgusting, obvious no one ever gave a damn about this kid. If he could have gotten away from home and found a life of his own, this wouldn't have happened. I can't imagine why he had to go to that school, what the hell that was for, I don't get that, but it looks to be like he's been singled out and made a "problem" since as far back as he could remember. His "crime" appears to be that he was "smart" - and this is what we do to such kids now, drive them mad. Peer rejection, everyone just saying oh he's autistic, etc... put in a trap he obviously felt he could never get out of. I wouldn't be surprised if a teacher at that school was the first to officially label and stigmatize him. and you know about some of the "treatments" such mothers would be drawn to? Think CONTROLLING EVERY MOVE HE MAKES all day long every day. forever (as far as he would have been concerned).

but no one will think for a second about what was done to him.

things to research: was he a legally competent adult or had the mom had him classified as unable to care for himself and retained complete power over him? Or was such a court finding in process?

[8bitagent]

So anyone else get the feeling that the sick side of the universe or cosmic order or whatever loads a cannon with a set number of mass shootings every now and then and then releases them?
I bet you could break down all these famous cases with pattern recognition. You have the Loughner/Holmes guys who literally look like crazed Batman villains and are taken alive, only to have zero recollection of the act and then somehow later regret.

Then you have the suicide cases. VT Tech, Omaha Mall, Portland Mall, Columbine, Sandy Hook, etc. In these cases it almost feels like the perps are programmed for a certain objective, then when they complete the task at the end of the maze(a real life maze, usually a school or work place, sometimes a mall) they then auto destruct. Like a Mission Impossible assignment.

Again please don't take this as me trying to play conspiracy theories or assigning blame away from these fuckers...but these now happen at such alarming(almost expected) intervals that very clear patterns emerge that only may seem random. Are they just syncs?

Also, I hate to bring it up, but innocent people(including children) are shot and killed all the time in Chicago..it's not unusual for dozens of people, many of whom with no gang affilitation, to be gunned down in any given weekend. But because they're in black inner cities, it's not as shocking as when young white kids do it. "We expect this to happen in them black areas" - media/society.

[lupercal]

this poor kid. he's been fucked with his whole life, officially labeled, drugged, called names and hated, 20 and he can't leave home, stuck with his crazy overbearing smothering mother. It's disgusting, obvious no one ever gave a damn about this kid. If he could have gotten away from home and found a life of his own, this wouldn't have happened.

I don't know drew, personally I'm confident that A L wasn't the shooter, and I wouldn't put much stock in the rest of the tale either. Apparently it was ginned up out of twitter feeds from neighbors hearing the news and such. They didn't have much contact with the family and the weirdo stuff seems a response to yesterday's news. Plus they need a lone nut so the nuttier they can paint the official perp the better. It wouldn't surprise me if he and his mother got along fine. We know they were comfortably taken care of by the dad.

The gun business is getting weird. Stories today say the victims were shot at close range with the Bushmaster rifle, which is a) grotesque and reminiscent of the Utoya shootings, and b) contradicts earlier stories that he used two handguns and left the Bushmaster in back of the car:

Adam Lanza Shot Victims at Close Range with Semi-Automatic Rifle
Source: ABC News
Multiple sources have told ABC News that Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster .223 semi-automatic rifle at close range to kill children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday.

Two handguns were also found at the scene, and a fourth weapon was found nearby. The weapons discovered at the school apparently belonged to a family member, possibly his mother, according to authorities.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/connectic ... d=17984499

[Wombaticus Rex]

So anyone else get the feeling that the sick side of the universe or cosmic order or whatever loads a cannon with a set number of mass shootings every now and then and then releases them?

Stated differently, yes, I do think that these incidents are fundamentally driven by economics and our current US austerity will lead to a continued increase in these events. This can be metaphorically conceived as a malignant intelligence, but in reality is about a complex as a rubber band.

[8bitagent]

So anyone else get the feeling that the sick side of the universe or cosmic order or whatever loads a cannon with a set number of mass shootings every now and then and then releases them?

Stated differently, yes, I do think that these incidents are fundamentally driven by economics and our current US austerity will lead to a continued increase in these events. This can be metaphorically conceived as a malignant intelligence, but in reality is about a complex as a rubber band.

Right, but clearly there's somewhat of a pathology difference between someone who snaps at a workplace as was common in the 1990's and 2000's, and someone who seeks out school kids despite not even being of school age(ie: Oslo, or this recent incident) I'm just curious how common these events were in past decades when the economy was also shaky

[8bitagent]

Oklahoma student arrested in alleged plot to attack school
By Reuters

Oklahoma police arrested a high school student on charges that he was plotting to carry out a shooting and bombing massacre at his school, the Tulsa World newspaper reported on Saturday.

Sammie Eaglebear Chavez, 18, was arrested at his home in Bartlesville, Okla., on Friday, the same day that a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

Police alleged in an affidavit that Chavez tried to recruit other Bartlesville High School students to help him lure classmates into the school auditorium, where he planned to chain the doors shut and start shooting them, the newspaper said.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12 ... chool?lite