Adam Lanza
14 December 2012 · Sandy Hook Elementary School · Newtown, ConnecticutUSA

Articles

Desperate Identities: A Bio-Psycho-Social Analysis of Perpetrators of Mass Violence [24 pp, 482 Kb]

This article examines five school shooters and five perpetrators of other types of mass violence. The five school shooters are Eric Houston, Eric Harris, Seung Hui Cho, Adam Lanza, and Elliot Rodger. The other perpetrators are Timothy McVeigh, Clay Shrout, Anders Breivik, James Holmes, and Dylann Roof. The article was originally published in Criminology and Public Policy and is posted here with permission. 

The Enigma of Adam Lanza’s Mind and Motivations for Murder [9 pp, 477 Kb]

This article draws on new material made available in 2014 and 2015, including both official reports and Lanza’s online presence that has been discovered and documented by Reed Coleman. The article was originally published in the Journal of Campus Behavioral Intervention (J-BIT) 3 (2015), 1–11. It is reprinted with permission of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA).

Information

Adam Lanza: Timeline [34 pp, 894 Kb]

This document chronicles Adam Lanza’s life and noteworthy activities leading up to the Sandy Hook shooting. Version 2.0 has been greatly expanded. (Special thanks to Reed Coleman.)

Original documents

Adam Lanza: Two Personal Messages [6 pp, 439 Kb]

This document provides crucial information from Lanza himself regarding what appears to have been his first psychotic episode.

Adam Lanza’s Audio Recordings (version 1.1) [101 pp, 3.34 Mb]

This is an annotated transcript of Lanza’s recordings that he posted on YouTube in 2011–2012, but which were not discovered until 2021.

Adam Lanza’s Call to AnarchyRadio [4 pp, 428 Kb]

On 20 December 2011, Adam Lanza called in to John Zerzan’s talk radio program AnarchyRadio to discuss a domesticated chimpanzee that turned violent. 

Adam Lanza’s “Shocked Beyond Belief” Posts [38 pp, 559 Kb]

This document contains the text of every surviving post made by Adam Lanza to the forum “Shocked Beyond Belief,” under the username “Smiggles,” with commentary by Reed Coleman. To see these posts in the context of the complete discussion threads, see the document “Shocked Beyond Belief”: Complete Threads. (Special thanks to Reed Coleman.)

Adam Lanza’s Spreadsheet of Killers [4 pp, 62 Kb]

This is the spreadsheet (or part of it) that Lanza created where he documented information about killers. The file name as it was released to the public was colgam01. According to Reed Coleman, this is an abbreviation of “Columbine Game.” See “Adam Lanza’s ‘Shocked Beyond Belief’ Posts.”

FBI Sandy Hook Documents

These files contain original documents from the FBI investigation into the Sandy Hook shooting.

FBI Sandy Hook Documents — Part 1 [535 pp, 9.8 Mb]
FBI Sandy Hook Documents
FBI Sandy Hook Documents — Part 2 [535 pp, 6.91 Mb]
FBI Sandy Hook Documents
FBI Sandy Hook Documents — Part 3 [495 pp, 9.04 Mb]
Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza

The following are assorted writings by the perpetrator.

“Adventures of Granny” (Adam Lanza) [29 pp, 1.73 Mb]

This document contains stories that Adam Lanza and a peer wrote in fifth grade at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Granny's Clubhouse of Happy Children” (Adam Lanza) [8 pp, 503 Kb]

This document contains stories by Adam Lanza written in fifth grade at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Lovebound” (Adam Lanza) [6 pp, 37 Kb]

This consists of notes and sketches of a screenplay. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Me” (Adam Lanza) [8 pp, 45 Kb]

These pages contain Lanza’s writing on a variety of topics. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Tomorrow” (Adam Lanza) [13 pp, 41 Kb]

These pages include daily schedules, Lanza’s comments about eating and weight, and a long list of words. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Babies” (Adam Lanza) [2 pp, 21 Kb]

This is a strange piece about fear of babies attacking. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Transcript of Online Chat (Adam Lanza) [26 pp, 1.12 Mb]

This is a social media conversation between Lanza and an online friend. Lanza posted under the name “Smiggles.”

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Essay on Pedophilia (Adam Lanza) [35 pp, 355 Kb]

Lanza wrote a college application essay about pedophilia. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Marriage (Adam Lanza) [3 pp, 100 Kb]

Lanza’s comments on love, sex, and marriage. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Script (Adam Lanza) [23 pp, 674 Kb]

A script Lanza wrote involving six characters. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Selfish” (Adam Lanza) [3 pp, 188 Kb]

Lanza’s comments about the selfishness of women. 

Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1

Originally released as “CFS 1200704559,” this document from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection consists of nine “books,” each of which originally comprised many separate files. Each “book” has been combined into a single PDF file. The original file names have been added in searchable form to each page of the new documents, and the associated bookmarks function as a table of contents (we recommend downloading the documents and using the bookmarks pane in your PDF viewer to navigate).

Sandy Hook DESPP Book 1 [690 pp, 135 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 2 [836 pp, 93 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 3 [441 pp, 53 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 4 [774 pp, 68 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 5 [449 pp, 61 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 6 [410 pp, 54 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 7 [453 pp, 46 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 8 [792 pp, 65 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 1
Sandy Hook DESPP Book 9 [261 pp, 1.2 Mb]
Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 2 [893 pp, 121 Mb]

Originally released as “CFS 1200704597,” these 81 documents from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection have been combined into a single PDF file. The original file names have been added in searchable form to each page of the document, and the associated bookmarks function as a table of contents (we recommend downloading the document and using the bookmarks pane in your PDF viewer to navigate).

Sandy Hook DESPP Batch 3 [728 pp, 139 Mb]

Originally released as “CFS 1200705354,” these 19 documents from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection have been combined into a single PDF file. The original file names have been added in searchable form to each page of the document, and the associated bookmarks function as a table of contents (we recommend downloading the document and using the bookmarks pane in your PDF viewer to navigate). The table of contents file has been moved to the front of the stack.

Sandy Hook: Final Redacted Release [1448 pp, 117.4 Mb]

This document contains numerous school assignments of Adam Lanza’s going back to grade school, as well as other materials. Some pages are completely redacted. 

“Shocked Beyond Belief”: Complete Threads [1355 pp, 6.4 Mb]

This searchable document contains the entirety of every (extant) thread on the forum “Shocked Beyond Belief” to which Adam Lanza posted (under the name “Smiggles”). The threads are ordered chronologically by the date when Lanza first posted to each one; but keep in mind that he sometimes returned to threads again later on. To read his individual posts in order, please see the companion document Adam Lanza’s “Shocked Beyond Belief” Posts, which contains cross-references to this document. Version 2.0 includes newly discovered posts. (Special thanks to Reed Coleman.)

Official reports

Appendix to Sandy Hook Official Report [236 pp, 25.31 Mb]

In the initial aftermath of the attack at Sandy Hook, it was reported that Adam Lanza had deleted his computer files. Among other details of the investigation, this document provides information regarding Lanza’s electronic files that investigators were able to recover. In addition, there is a summary of “The Big Book of Granny,” a piece of writing created by Lanza and a peer. The story includes a character who states, “I like hurting people … especially children.” Also, in one “episode,” Granny’s son shoots her in the head; in other words, a son shoots his own mother in the head. This is what Lanza ended up doing in real life.

The Final Report of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission [277 pp, 2 Mb]

This report presents recommendations on school safety in three domains: Safe School Design and Operation; Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and Emergency Response; and Mental Health/Mental Wellness.

Sandy Hook Official Report [48 pp, 608 Kb]

This is the official report by the State’s Attorney, Stephen J. Sedensky, III, documenting the investigation of the attack by Adam Lanza.

Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School: Report of the Office of the Child Advocate [114 pp, 895 Kb]

This report was released on November 21, 2014. It reviews Lanza’s contacts with medical and mental health professionals and the missed opportunities for intervention.