The deadliest school shooting to have ever happened in the United States at a high school or grade school, happened less than two years ago. On December 14th, 2012, Adam Lanza, who was twenty years old at the time, shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, four times and then brought firearms to his former grade school Sandy Hook Elementary, and fatally shot twenty children and six adults. Then the shooter put his own gun to his head and fatally shot himself. All of the children were between the ages of six and seven years old, and all six adults who were shot and killed were females who worked at the school. Lanza's father believed that if he were there himself, his son would have had no trouble shooting and killing him too. He also theorized that Adam shot his mother four times for each of them; himself, his mother, his father, and his brother. After the tragedy, the school was torn down and many gun-control debates heated up and schools greatly improved their security to prevent anymore potential attacks. To this day, the motive of Adam Lanza, is still unknown but the effects are still felt in the world today. When looking into the reasons that would cause a twenty year old young man to commit such a horrific act, the mental heath of the shooter is nearly always the first thing to look at. Adam Lanza was indeed found to have suffered from multiple mental disorders, however there is no direct connection between Lanza's mental health and his decision to commit mass murder. At the age of thirteen, Lanza, was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. According to www.oxforddictionaries.com Asperger's syndrome is a developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by higher than average intellectual ability coupled with impaire... ... middle of paper ... ... "A Year Later, 'Newtown' Still Echoes." Education Week [Bethesda] 11 Dec. 2013: n. pag. Print. David, Javier E. "The Sandy Hook Effect: Gun Sales Rise as Stocks Fall." CNBC.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. Gee, Denise J. "After Sandy Hook, a New Wave of School Security - The Buffalo News." Www.buffaloNews.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. "Newtown Shooting: Adam Lanza's Psychiatric Treatment Revealed In Documents." Hartford Courant. N.p., 28 Dec. 2013. Web. 08 May 2014. Pilkington, Ed. "Sandy Hook Report – Shooter Adam Lanza Was Obsessed with Mass Murder." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 May 2014. "Revelations About Adam Lanza's Mental Health Still Don't Explain the Violence." The Wire. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. Robinson, Janet. "Sand Hook Elementary: Six Months Later." Interview by Angela Pascopella. June 2013: 50-53. Print.
Sandy Hook is an elementary school in Connecticut that was invaded by a shooter, Adam Lanza. Twenty-eight people were shot and killed, twenty of them being children between the ages of five and ten. Before Lanza arrived, he shot and killed his mother who was a teacher at this school. The article was published the day of the shooting to the Washington Post. The article was written announce what had actually happened during this tragic event. The article was directed towards parents with kids and adults to inform everyone on the catastrophe and to hopefully make schools as safe as they could possibly be. Additionally the author also states that this is not the right time to try and discuss the gun control laws.
The tragedy that happened in Newton, Connecticut swept the world with a variety of emotions. Many individuals became angry or saddened by the tragedy. I think more of the individuals were angry of what happened to those 20 innocent children. Parents send their children to school thinking that they are safe but in this case ended in tragedy. I am going to discuss similarities and differences between two articles. I am also going to discuss how this shooting is a symbolic crime, how likely policy changes will be enacted and how unlikely they are to be enacted.
On December Fourteen 2012 Adam Lanza allegedly drove to Sandy Hook Elementary, his old elementary school, and shot and killed twenty-six students and faculty, then turned the gun on himself before apprehension by police. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary was a tragic event, it’s hard not to sympathize with the families of those killed. There is a movement, however, that claims the shooting was fake (Spaeth). IT’s believed the shooting was staged in order to pave the way for stricter gun control (Salazar). Conspiracy theorists, calling themselves Truthers, have provided evidence to support their claims numerous times in attempts to convince the general population.
Vogel, Steve; Horwitz, Sari and David A. Fahrenthold. “Sandy Hook massacre: New details but Few Answers.”Washington Post 17 Dec 2012: Pro Quest. Web. 17 Sep. 2013.
In the small town of Newtown, Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary is the home of many students and families. Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut was a home of 28,000 residents about sixty miles outside of New York City. The surrounding community was impacted heavily. The massacre that dramatically shocked the families of the victims traumatized the entire nation. Citizens were left in doubt and suspicion, which is where the conspiracies are rooted. The shooting caused people around the country to come together for the security of w...
In December 2014 an elementary school was attacked by an armed gunman. The shooter’s name was Adam Lanza. He killed twenty first graders an...
It is a sad time in American history when one can easily recount recent school shootings in their own area. This ease stems from a sharp increase in the number of firearms brought into elementary and middle schools across the country, with an intense focus on the issue beginning after the shooting of 20 children from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Most school shooters are male, white, and often upper middle class. They are also more, often than not, under some type of mental stress that is causing them to create this type of violence in our communities. In fact, many school shooters are never suspected of doing any harm to their peers and teachers until it is much too late.
They suggested that not only mental illness but other factors such as social relationships, firearm access during emotional moments etc also lead to gun violence. However, they failed to cite this with strong facts, numbers etc. Reports suggest that up to 60% of executioners of mass shootings in the United States since 1970 displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their crimes[4,5]. In another article “Rates of Household Firearm Ownership and Homicide Across US Regions and States, 1988–1997”[6], the authors emphasized on the “association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide across the United States, by age group”. In this analysis, they failed to take gender, mental health and other factors into consideration which helps more to analyze that which type of people (mentally ill) and/ or which gender are doing these cruel
On December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza, a 20 year old with asperger’s syndrome, shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut . According to the final report by the states attorney’s office he got in the school at 9:30 AM in the morning and shot the principal and the school’s psychologist that went out to the hallway to check loud bangs they heard. He then moved on to class rooms where innocent children were learning and started shooting and by 9:40 AM, just ten minutes later, he took the lives of twenty six people, including twenty children age twelve and below and six adults, before taking his own life (State Report on Sandy Hook Elementary shooting).
Alan Fox discussed some typical characteristics of school shooters which included easy access to guns. Other characteristics were alienation, frustration, and low self esteem. Mr. Fox stated that these kids typically just don’t feel good about themselves. He blames the recent spate of school violence on the media and instant popularity arising from intense news coverage after the violence which encouraged a surge of “copycats”. He also discusses the role of violence seen in today’s movies, MTV and video games. Ignoring the warning signs of potential explosive juveniles was also sighted as a reason for this surge in school shootings.
On April 16th, 2007 Cho had created one of the most deadly school shootings in America. ( "Virginia Tech Shootings Fast Facts." CNN.) It was unfathomable to think that in the close future, America would encounter many more detrimental school shootings. This is including the shooting of elementary students in Newtown, CT where Adam Lanza had shot and killed 27 children and faculty. Lanza had been known to have significant health issues that had kept him from living a normal life. (Sanchez, Ray, Chelsea J. Carter in Atlanta, Yon Pomrenze in New York, and The CNN New York Bureau Staff. ) Both of these shooters had killed themselves shortly after their attacks. School violence has become a nation-wide issue.
Gun control recently has rapidly become an even further controversial topic due to violent acts against the public by troubled individuals. How were these attacks allowed to happen? As stated in Framing Health Matters article, “In the United States, popular and political discourse frequently focuses on the causal impact of mental illness in the aftermath of mass shootings.” (.1) This issue unfortunately remains so overlooked that media sources only offer it attention after a tragedy. Not to mention the impact these situations have on the society. No normal person decides to harm people solely due to the fact that they can obtain a weapon easily. To be able to move forward with these irrational decisions the
Although The Dark Knight is completely fictional, the news reporters are linking mental illness with violence even when reporting stories that are true. A Huffington Post article about the James Holmes mass shooting says “cracks in the mental health system” at the school he attended. There are always precautions to take with school shootings, but you can’t always prevent it. This is portrayed as psychosis due to the violence intended by the shooting. This is a misconception because the maj...
Smith, Scott. "Psychology: Mental Illness Reason Behind Most Mass Murders." Capital-Gazette Newspapers [Annapolis] 3 Oct. 2013: n. pag. NewsBank Special Reports. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
...t: (http://www.psych.org/public_info/VIOLEN~1.HTM) Government Survey (1990) Violence and Psychiatric Disorders in the Community: Evidence from the Epidemiological Catchment Area Surveys. Hospital and Community Psychiatry (41:761770) Holy Bible (1998) Leviticus Chapter 19 verse 18, King James version (204:2049) Hudson, Thomas (1978) The Laws of Psychic Phenomena. Internet: (http://www.appi.org/pnews/sep20/jail.htm1) (pg.1 & 2) Illinois State Police (1999) Violence in the Workplace Characteristics. Internet: (http://www.state.il.us/ISPviowkplc/vwpp4.htm) Modestin, Jiri (1997) Is Depression A Risk Factor for Crime? Crime Times, Internet: (http://www.crime~times.org/97d/w97dp6.htm) (p.1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) (1999) The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness. Summary of the NAMI Policy Platform (1:8) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) (1999) The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness. Summary of the NAMI Policy Platform (3:8) Taridiff, K. (1980) Assault, Suicide and Mental Illness. Archives of General Psychiatry (37:164169) Webster Dictionary (1988) Unabridged Yapko, Micheal D. (1997) The Art of Avoiding Depression. Psychology Today