Mail Online 12.17.2012
Did paranoid, gun-crazed mother trigger son's school killing spree? Friends say she believed world was on edge of collapse
- Nancy Lanza portrayed as 'survivalist' who stockpiled food, water and guns
- She was shot four times in the head, possibly as she slept, by her son
- Collection of guns included handguns, assault rifle and two hunting rifles
- Son Adam was reclusive, spending most of his time in adjoining bedrooms
- Fiercely protective mother insisted he was never left on his own
- Fellow school pupils described him as very bright, a genius, but painfully shy
- Moved to Sandy Hook in around 1998 but Mrs Lanza and husband divorced
The mother of the loner who massacred 26 pupils and staff at a US primary school may have played a major part in his catastrophic mental breakdown, it emerged last night. Friends and family portrayed Adam Lanza’s mother Nancy as a paranoid ‘survivalist’ who believed the world was on the verge of violent, economic collapse.
She is reported to have been struggling to hold herself together and had been stockpiling food, water and guns in the large home she shared with her 20-year-old son in Connecticut.
Mrs Lanza, 52, was a ‘prepper’ – so called because they are preparing for a breakdown in civilised society – who apparently became obsessed with guns and taught Adam and his older brother, Ryan, how to shoot, even taking them to local ranges. That backfired horrifically on Friday when Adam Lanza began his killing spree by shooting his mother dead in bed.
He fired four bullets into her head – possibly as she slept – then took three of her guns to Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, where he killed 20 children and six staff. Lanza’s aunt Marsha said Nancy was ‘self reliant’ and that they talked a lot about how she was preparing for the economic meltdown.
She said her former sister-in-law was meticulous about never leaving guns out, but made no secret of having an imposing firearm collection.
Find the story here
She is reported to have been struggling to hold herself together and had been stockpiling food, water and guns in the large home she shared with her 20-year-old son in Connecticut.
Mrs Lanza, 52, was a ‘prepper’ – so called because they are preparing for a breakdown in civilised society – who apparently became obsessed with guns and taught Adam and his older brother, Ryan, how to shoot, even taking them to local ranges. That backfired horrifically on Friday when Adam Lanza began his killing spree by shooting his mother dead in bed.
He fired four bullets into her head – possibly as she slept – then took three of her guns to Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, where he killed 20 children and six staff. Lanza’s aunt Marsha said Nancy was ‘self reliant’ and that they talked a lot about how she was preparing for the economic meltdown.
She said her former sister-in-law was meticulous about never leaving guns out, but made no secret of having an imposing firearm collection.
Find the story here
