It has been reported that Adam Lanza (pictured above) was obsessed with violent video games and these may have played a role on his actions during the Sandy Hook massacre.
On 14 December 2012, Adam Lanza used a collection of semi-automatic rifles and handguns to murder 20 children and 6 staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Prior to the massacre, Lanza had murdered his mother at their shared home. When the first responders to the incident arrived, Lanza committed suicide.
It has been reported that Lanza was diagnosed with the hypothesised sensory integration disorder, which is commonly noted as characteristic of autism. It is also reported that Lanza was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome which is of often characterised with intense and repetitive interests.
Adam Lanza’s mother Nancy was described as a gun enthusiast who owned at least a dozen weapons and who often took Adam to a firing range to learn how to operate the weapons. It was these weapons that Adam Lanza used that day to commit the crime.
Video games have also been linked to Lanza following a report from PBS/Hartford Courant which detailed an obsession with shooters and a fascination with weaponry. When searching Lanza’s home, police apparently found “thousands of dollars worth” of violent videos games. Police have speculated that the shooter games may have influenced Lanza’s actions during the massacre as he “reloaded more often than was necessary”.
It is now being reported by NY Daily News (18 March 2013) that police found an extensive spreadsheet compiled by Lanza detailing “about 500” mass murders and attempted murders, with names, weapon makes and models, and number of kills.
The information apparently came out of the International Association of Police Chiefs and Colonels meeting in New Orleans (16 March 2013) at which there was a presentation by Danny Stebbins, a colonel from the Connecticut State Police.
A law enforcement veteran who wished to remain anonymous, relayed the information to reporter Mike Lupica from NY Daily News, saying that:
“We were told [Lanza] had around 500 people on this sheet. “Names and the number of people killed and the weapons that were used, even the precise make and model of the weapons. It had to have taken years. It sounded like a doctoral thesis, that was the quality of the research.”
“[Police] don’t believe this was just a spreadsheet. They believe it was a score sheet.”
“This was the work of a video gamer, and that it was his intent to put his own name at the very top of that list. They believe that he picked an elementary school because he felt it was a point of least resistance, where he could rack up the greatest number of kills. That’s what (the Connecticut police) believe.”
“It’s why he didn’t want to be killed by law enforcement. In the code of a gamer, even a deranged gamer like this little bastard, if somebody else kills you, they get your points. They believe that’s why he killed himself.”
“He didn’t snap that day, he wasn’t one of those guys who was mad as hell and wasn’t going to take it anymore. He had been planning this thing forever. In the end, it was just a perfect storm: These guns, one of them an AR-15, in the hands of a violent, insane gamer. It was like porn to a rapist. They feed on it until they go out and say, enough of the video screen. Now I’m actually going to be a hunter.”
The anonymous source went on to detail how it was believed video games played a role in shaping Lanza’s actions:
“The fascination (Lanza) had with this subject matter, the complete and total concentration. There really was no other subject matter inside his head. Just this: Kill, kill, kill.”
“It really was like he was lost in one of his own sick games. That’s what we heard. That he learned something from his game that you learn in [police] school, about how if you’re moving from room to room — the way he was in that school — you have to reload before you get to the next room. Maybe he has a 30-round magazine clip, and he’s only used half of it. But he’s willing to dump 15 rounds and have a new clip before he arrives in the next room.”
“They believe he learned the principles of this — the tactical reload — from his game. Reload before you’re completely out. Keep going. When the strap broke on his first weapon (the AR-15), he went to his handgun at the end. Classic police training. Or something you learn playing kill games.”
Via Kotaku
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