Almost a year later, the investigators' final report on the Sandy Hook shootings is lacking in any clear motive for Adam Lanza's rampage:
NEW YORK -- Adam Lanza, whose shooting rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary School left 20 first-graders and six adults dead, acted with deliberation despite his mental health problems and is criminally responsible for the attack that horrified the nation, investigators said Monday.
In a 48-page report, the state’s attorney for Connecticut’s Danbury region, Stephen J. Sedensky III, said investigators could not establish a conclusive motive for the attack or why Lanza chose Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., as the target for the shooting other than it was close to his home.
Lanza started his rampage by killing his mother and ended it by committing suicide Dec. 14, 2012. The report comes almost a year after the tragedy, which prompted a push for new federal gun control legislation that stalled in Washington. Although national efforts have faltered, some states, including Connecticut, toughened their laws.
The eagerly awaited report gives the clearest picture yet of the events in one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings.
Lanza “had significant mental health issues that while not affecting the criminality of the shooter’s mental state for the crimes or his criminal responsibility for them, did affect his ability to live a normal life,” the report states. It goes on to say that Lanza did not help himself deal with his mental issues.
“In 2005, the shooter was diagnosed with Asperger’s disorder and was described as presenting with significant social impairments and extreme anxiety,” the report says. Lanza “refused to take suggested medication and did not engage in suggested behavior therapies.”
Investigators also said they found no evidence to suggest that Lanza had taken any medication that would affect his behavior or by any means explain his actions.
The report is short on the most gruesome details:
Monday's release is only a partial collection of evidence contained in a several thousand-page file belonging to the Connecticut State Police, according to the Associated Press. Sendensky wouldn't say why the full evidence file is being withheld from the public. Previously, police have cited consideration for victims' families and the sheer size of the investigation as reasons for keeping the file private.
Critics say that withholding information demonstrates the secrecy of the state's investigation.
"What I found troubling about the approach of the state's attorney is that from my perspective, [Sedensky] seems to have forgotten his job is to represent the state of Connecticut," Dan Klau, a Hartford attroney, told the AP. "His conduct in many instances has seemed more akin to an attorney in private practice representing Sandy Hook families."
