The 20-year-old Newtown shooter Adam
Lanza had been beaten and taunted by his fellow classmates while he was a
student at Sandy Hook Elementary, and his mother had considered filing a
lawsuit against the school, a relative has sensationally revealed.
Speaking exclusively with the New York Daily News, the relative said that the man who would grow up to murder his mother, Nancy, was viciously bullied by his classmates and would come home from class with bruises over his body.
Nancy Lanza was ‘irate’ in her belief that the educators at Sandy Hook weren’t doing all in their power to protect her son, they said.
The relative told the Daily News that Lanza wouldn’t confide in his mother when she asked him what was wrong. ‘He would just sit there,’ the relative said.
Lanza shot dead 20 first graders and
six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 in a matter
of minutes, making it one of the worst school shootings in U.S.
history.
Last week, a never-before-seen photograph of Lanza emerged, along with college records which include new information about the gunman including that he refused to identify his own gender when asked to do so in college documents.
Lanza attended Western Connecticut State University for less than a year after his mom withdrew him from Newtown High School when he still only 16. When asked his gender on a student background information form, Lanza wrote 'I choose not to answer.'
He
also wrote the same in response to the question: 'How do you describe
yourself?', according to records obtained by CBS News.
The most recently discovered photo of Lanza was his student ID during his time at Western Connecticut State University and shows a gaunt young man with an unusual stare.
Students and teacher who remember him from his WCSU days recall that he was very quiet and struggled to mix with the other students although that was largely attributed at the time to him being younger than them.
He earned a 3.26 grade point average while there, but WCSU after less than a year in 2009, he then attended a community college, but also left that school after a year. Eventually, he worked at a part-time job for a while repairing computers, but that job ended when the business shut down.
Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th and opened fire killing 26 people, including 20 children, before killing himself.
He had killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, in her bed before heading to the school.
A bipartisan legislative task force in Connecticut has agreed on a major overhaul of the state's gun laws in the aftermath of December's deadly attack.
The draft legislation, announced on Monday, would add more than 100 types of guns to the state's list of banned assault weapons; limit the capacity of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds; ban armor-piercing bullets; require background checks for all weapon sales, including at gun shows; establish safety standards for school buildings; allow mental health training for teachers; and expand mental health research in the state.
'Nobody will be able to say that this bill is absolutely perfect, but no one will also be able to say that this bill fails the test when it comes to being the strongest in the country and the most comprehensive bill in the country,' Connecticut Senate President Don Williams, a Democrat and a member of the task force, said Monday.
Last week, documents revealed how the 20-year-old Lanza sprayed 155 bullets at innocent children and educators during a five-minute rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14.
The papers also revealed items seized from the home that Lanza shared with his mother.
Investigators confiscated an NRA guide to shooting and three other self-help books, 'Look at Me: My Life With Asperger's', 'Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Mind of an Autistic Savant' and 'Train Your Brain to Get Happy.'
In a top drawer of a filing cabinet, they found paper targets. In a duffel bag, they found ear and eye protection, binoculars, numerous other paper targets and an NRA certificate in his name. Another certificate was found in the home that belonged to Nancy Lanza, 52.
In response, the powerful gun-rights group denied the accuracy of the police evidence, saying both Lanza and his mother had no links to the group.
'There is no record of a member relationship between Newtown killer Adam Lanza, nor between Nancy Lanza, A. Lanza or N. Lanza with the National Rifle Association.
Reporting to the contrary is reckless, false and defamatory,' the statement said.
According to its website, the NRA doesn't offer formal certificates for membership.
The police dossier compiled in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre reveal Lanza had amassed an astonishing arsenal of guns, with thousands of rounds of ammunition, samurai swords, spears and three photographs of what appear to be a dead person covered in blood.
Search warrant affidavits relating to the Newtown school shootings were unsealed by a judge in Danbury at 9.01am this morning - providing a chilling picture of the mass murderer in the days before he killed 26 people, including 20 children at the Connecticut school in December.
The inventory of the evidence seized from Lanza's home and the car he drove to carry out the massacre provided glimpses into the world of a troubled young man, but it does not answer the question of what could have motivated the attack.
Investigators say it will take until June or later to complete the investigation.
Chief prosecutor Stephen Sedensky confirmed that Lanza killed all 26 victims inside Sandy Hook Elementary School with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle before taking his own life with a Glock 10 mm handgun.
He revealed Lanza had another loaded handgun with him inside the school as well as three, 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster.
When his body was discovered, Lanza's Bushmaster was loaded with 30-round magazine of which 14 bullets still remained in place with one round in the chamber.
Upon entering the school, the
police documents state that law officials discovered, 'numerous school
children and school personnel located deceased from apparent gunshot
wounds in the first three classrooms off the main hallway, adjacent to
the school's front entrance'.
Adam Lanza's body was found dressed in military camouflage wearing a bullet-proof vest on the floor in the classroom.
All the weapons Lanza was carrying were legally owned by his mother, Nancy, 52, who was discovered dead in her bed on the second-floor of the house she shared with her son with a gunshot wound to her forehead and a rifle on the floor nearby.
This new information from the police rules out any suggestion that Lanza tried to buy weapons himself before his massacre - which had been speculated previously.
A loaded 12-gauge shotgun was also found on the backseat of the Honda Civic Lanza drove to the school with two magazines containing 70 rounds of Winchester 12-gauge shotgun rounds.
The
Associated Press and other news outlets have reported previously that
Lanza showed interest in other mass killings and authorities found
literature on other massacres at his house.
There have been reports that Lanza was obsessed with other mass killers, including Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in a shooting and bomb attack in Norway two years ago.
Among school shootings in the United
States, the death toll from Newtown is second only to the 32 people
killed at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Malloy announced last week that additional information would be released at his request. He expressed concern that some information about the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook reportedly disclosed by a top state police commander at a recent law enforcement seminar in New Orleans was leaked.
'Like many others, I was disappointed and angered to learn that certain information about the Newtown shooting had been leaked, specifically with concern for the victims' families who may have been hearing this news for the first time,' the governor said in a statement.
A column published last week in the New York Daily News, citing an unnamed police officer who attended the seminar, reported that Col Daniel Stebbins discussed evidence that suggested the Newtown gunman studied other mass slayings and dedicated extensive planning to the rampage.
The seminar was designed for only law enforcement professionals, and sensitive information dealing with the tactical approaches used by first responders to the Sandy Hook shootings was discussed, Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt J. Paul Vance said.
Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. said this week that legislative leaders hope to review the search warrant documents before finishing work on a bipartisan bill that addresses gun control and other issues related to the massacre.
Speaking exclusively with the New York Daily News, the relative said that the man who would grow up to murder his mother, Nancy, was viciously bullied by his classmates and would come home from class with bruises over his body.
Nancy Lanza was ‘irate’ in her belief that the educators at Sandy Hook weren’t doing all in their power to protect her son, they said.
The relative told the Daily News that Lanza wouldn’t confide in his mother when she asked him what was wrong. ‘He would just sit there,’ the relative said.
Scroll down for video
Bullied: A relative of Nancy Lanza said that
Newtown shooter Adam Lanza was beaten up by classmates so badly that his
mother was considering filing a lawsuit against the Connecticut school
A photo of Adam Lanza, left, taken from his
student ID from when he attended Western Connecticut State University
and, right, the chilling image of Lanza that has become synonymous with
the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December
Last week, a never-before-seen photograph of Lanza emerged, along with college records which include new information about the gunman including that he refused to identify his own gender when asked to do so in college documents.
Lanza attended Western Connecticut State University for less than a year after his mom withdrew him from Newtown High School when he still only 16. When asked his gender on a student background information form, Lanza wrote 'I choose not to answer.'
Mourning: A woman places flowers at a memorial
at a sign for Sandy Hook Elementary School a day after the shooting; a
relative said Lanza would come home from the school covered in bruises
Police and ambulance, on December 14, 2012, at the scene from the aftermath of the school shooting
The most recently discovered photo of Lanza was his student ID during his time at Western Connecticut State University and shows a gaunt young man with an unusual stare.
Students and teacher who remember him from his WCSU days recall that he was very quiet and struggled to mix with the other students although that was largely attributed at the time to him being younger than them.
He earned a 3.26 grade point average while there, but WCSU after less than a year in 2009, he then attended a community college, but also left that school after a year. Eventually, he worked at a part-time job for a while repairing computers, but that job ended when the business shut down.
Documentation shows that Lanza refused to identify his own gender and to describe himself when asked by the college
He had killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, in her bed before heading to the school.
A bipartisan legislative task force in Connecticut has agreed on a major overhaul of the state's gun laws in the aftermath of December's deadly attack.
The draft legislation, announced on Monday, would add more than 100 types of guns to the state's list of banned assault weapons; limit the capacity of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds; ban armor-piercing bullets; require background checks for all weapon sales, including at gun shows; establish safety standards for school buildings; allow mental health training for teachers; and expand mental health research in the state.
'Nobody will be able to say that this bill is absolutely perfect, but no one will also be able to say that this bill fails the test when it comes to being the strongest in the country and the most comprehensive bill in the country,' Connecticut Senate President Don Williams, a Democrat and a member of the task force, said Monday.
Last week, documents revealed how the 20-year-old Lanza sprayed 155 bullets at innocent children and educators during a five-minute rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14.
Denial: The NRA refutes the accuracy of the police evidence, saying both Lanza and his mother had no links to the group
Investigators confiscated an NRA guide to shooting and three other self-help books, 'Look at Me: My Life With Asperger's', 'Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Mind of an Autistic Savant' and 'Train Your Brain to Get Happy.'
In a top drawer of a filing cabinet, they found paper targets. In a duffel bag, they found ear and eye protection, binoculars, numerous other paper targets and an NRA certificate in his name. Another certificate was found in the home that belonged to Nancy Lanza, 52.
In response, the powerful gun-rights group denied the accuracy of the police evidence, saying both Lanza and his mother had no links to the group.
'There is no record of a member relationship between Newtown killer Adam Lanza, nor between Nancy Lanza, A. Lanza or N. Lanza with the National Rifle Association.
Reporting to the contrary is reckless, false and defamatory,' the statement said.
Roped off: Crime scene tape remained outside
Nancy Lanza's Sandy Hook home days after the shooting; five search
warrants and the corresponding documents were released last week
The police dossier compiled in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre reveal Lanza had amassed an astonishing arsenal of guns, with thousands of rounds of ammunition, samurai swords, spears and three photographs of what appear to be a dead person covered in blood.
Search warrant affidavits relating to the Newtown school shootings were unsealed by a judge in Danbury at 9.01am this morning - providing a chilling picture of the mass murderer in the days before he killed 26 people, including 20 children at the Connecticut school in December.
The inventory of the evidence seized from Lanza's home and the car he drove to carry out the massacre provided glimpses into the world of a troubled young man, but it does not answer the question of what could have motivated the attack.
Investigators say it will take until June or later to complete the investigation.
Chief prosecutor Stephen Sedensky confirmed that Lanza killed all 26 victims inside Sandy Hook Elementary School with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle before taking his own life with a Glock 10 mm handgun.
He revealed Lanza had another loaded handgun with him inside the school as well as three, 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster.
When his body was discovered, Lanza's Bushmaster was loaded with 30-round magazine of which 14 bullets still remained in place with one round in the chamber.
Children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School
in Newtown, flee after Adam Lanza opened fire, killing 26 people,
including 20 children on December 14th
Police and other officials stand outside Sandy
Hook Elementary School in this aerial photograph a day after the mass
shooting at the school in December of last year
Adam Lanza's body was found dressed in military camouflage wearing a bullet-proof vest on the floor in the classroom.
All the weapons Lanza was carrying were legally owned by his mother, Nancy, 52, who was discovered dead in her bed on the second-floor of the house she shared with her son with a gunshot wound to her forehead and a rifle on the floor nearby.
This new information from the police rules out any suggestion that Lanza tried to buy weapons himself before his massacre - which had been speculated previously.
A loaded 12-gauge shotgun was also found on the backseat of the Honda Civic Lanza drove to the school with two magazines containing 70 rounds of Winchester 12-gauge shotgun rounds.
There have been reports that Lanza was obsessed with other mass killers, including Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in a shooting and bomb attack in Norway two years ago.
ALL OVER IN FIVE MINUTES: LANZA UNLEASHED 155 BULLETS INSIDE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- Adam Lanza fired 155 bullets in less than five minutes on the day he killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the chief prosecutor investigating the massacre said on Thursday.
- The total included 154 fired from a Bushmaster .223-model rifle and a final bullet, fired from a Glock 10mm handgun, that Lanza used to take his own life, said Stephen Sedensky, the chief prosecutor investigating the shooting
Malloy announced last week that additional information would be released at his request. He expressed concern that some information about the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook reportedly disclosed by a top state police commander at a recent law enforcement seminar in New Orleans was leaked.
'Like many others, I was disappointed and angered to learn that certain information about the Newtown shooting had been leaked, specifically with concern for the victims' families who may have been hearing this news for the first time,' the governor said in a statement.
A column published last week in the New York Daily News, citing an unnamed police officer who attended the seminar, reported that Col Daniel Stebbins discussed evidence that suggested the Newtown gunman studied other mass slayings and dedicated extensive planning to the rampage.
The seminar was designed for only law enforcement professionals, and sensitive information dealing with the tactical approaches used by first responders to the Sandy Hook shootings was discussed, Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt J. Paul Vance said.
Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. said this week that legislative leaders hope to review the search warrant documents before finishing work on a bipartisan bill that addresses gun control and other issues related to the massacre.
Police released their filed today that document
what was recovered from the home of Adam Lanza in the aftermath of the
Sandy Hook massacre of December 2012
Tragedy: People gather on the New Haven Green
during a candlelight vigil to support the victims of the Sandy Hook
Elementary School shooting in New Haven, Connecticut, on December 15,
2012