the mass murderer was 20 years old....

[spanone]

The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was also found dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, law enforcement officials said. Lanza's mother is a kindergarten teacher

at the hilltop school, and it's inside her classroom where most of the casualties were found, according to NBCNewYork.com.


http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15907407-elementary-school-massacre-27-killed-including-20-kids-at-connecticut-school?lite

[JI7]

1. so kids were about 5-6 years old ?

[rocktivity]

3. I don't think he cared how old they were, but that they "belonged" to his mother

Maybe he felt she loved them more because they weren't as imperfect as he was.


rocktivity

[murray hill farm]

2. I am not clear on this!

Was his mother in the classroom when he killed her? The reports are that he killed his mother and then killed the children. I will bet that instead he killed the children...and then his mother....so that she saw what he was doing before he killed her. We may never know.

[tblue]

4. Let us NEVER speak his name again.

We do not want to make him famous or glorify him in any way.

What an ass! Whatever his problem, there had to be another solution. Why didn't he just fucking commit suicide?

[spanone]

5. we live in a society that glorifies fame.....i wish he would have jumped off a bridge somewhere

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. Normal procedure is to always call him by First, Middle, and Last names

John Wilkes Booth
Lee Harvey Oswald

This shooter's middle name will be known soon.

There might have been other solutions besides suicide. His mental state and problems will probably become clearer over the next weeks. It's not always easy or affordable to find good mental help.

[SoCalDem]

6. Let me guess..

angry/moody/lonely/depressed/bullied/misunderstood/white/male/middle-classed/easy access to guns.. what could possibly go wrong here?

People later on will no doubt describe him as a "quiet young man..pleasant.. a nice neighbor..or a troubled young guy who was just starting to figure things out.."..

We've seen this movie before..and it always ends the same way..

[amandabeech]

8. He's also at the age when males start to develop schizophrenia.

Gabby Giffords's killer had that horrible psychiatric disease, and there were reports that the Joker shooter in Denver may have been having problems with that disease.

It seems like this shooter might have had mental problems, too.

We really have to stop stigmatizing mental illnesses and make it easier and cheaper to access treatment. Treatment for the mentally ill may be as important as limiting gun sales in eliminating murders like this.

[SoCalDem]

9. The problem is that once someone reaches 18, they are technically in charge of their own lives

even if they cannot manage the task....and so many health plans (if they are covered) have limited or non-existent mental health care available..

[amandabeech]

13. I agree with you on both thoughts.

When I was in law school way back when, I worked in the mental hospital legal services program. We served the mental hospital that used to be near Middletown, CT.

Back then, it was a bit easier to get patients in for a 48 or 72 hour hold, We worked to make it more difficult. I'm no longer sure that was the best idea.

The problem is that more people who really don't need to be hospitalized end up with the "mental hospital" stigma on their records. With the AFA, those people cannot be denied insurance, and will pay the same as others their age. Many will qualify for Medicaid subsidies in those states that decide to fully cooperate with the federal plan.

Perhaps there could be a program that would expunge the "mental hospital" for patients not diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar or those with personality disorders who have engaged in violence. Perhaps after two years without an episode of hospitalization the hospitalization could be written down for purposes of employment, or have the hospitalization deemed to have been unnecessary. Well, these are just a few ideas I'm throwing out there. Obviously, there would be legal problems that would have to be resolved before any implementation.

[elfin]

7. Thought I heard his mother found dead at home

So it was a sub there today?

Gawd, this is so awful on so many levels, and keeps getting worse with each newscast.

[RebelOne]

10. None of the news sites can get it right.

First, it was the mother found dead at the home. Then, she was killed at the school. Now, they are saying she was found dead at the home. It will be a while before they all get their facts straight.

[rocktivity]

12. The Daily News is saying that now

Gunman Adam Lanza, 20, kills teacher mother in her Newtown home, then drove her car to her school and opened fire

...The mass murderer, identified by sources as Adam Lanza, 20, blasted his teacher mom Nancy Lanza at her home before opening fire on students inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown — a suburban town of just 27,000 people.
link

Which makes it even worse: It wasn't enough for him to eliminate the object of his anger -- he also had to destroy the children that he felt his mother love more.


rocktivity