Attempting to Profile Elementary School Shooter Adam Lanza

Who is Adam Lanza?  And before he took his own life, what prompted him to murder – in cold blood – 27 people, including 20 elementary school children?

It’s only natural to want answers to those questions.

Though, the truth is, we may never really know who this young man was or why he killed those small children.

However, for better or worse, that won’t stop the media from trying to paint a portrait of Lanza and his reason(s) for becoming unhinged.

Adam Lanza

Thus far, various media reports have describe Lanza as a “loner,” as someone who “kept to himself,” the “quiet type.”

“I knew Adam in high school,” a Newtown man told the Washington Post. “He always seemed like a quiet type. He was never really sociable. When you try to communicate with him, he would just kind of like have one- or two-word responses.”

“He was a wicked smart kid, he excelled in everything,” the man continued. “He graduated high school three years early.”

The man, who declined to give his name, also spoke about Lanza’s mother and the type of person she was, dispelling notions that she was careless or irresponsible.

“I know her. My family knew her. She was a respectable collector [of guns]. She used them responsibly. It’s not her fault that any of this happened.”

Lanza fatally shot his mother in the face at their home before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary School.  He used her legally registered firearms, two 9mm handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, along with a .223 caliber Bushmaster in the attack.

Given the extreme nature of the shooting, many of those who knew Lanza were a mixture of both speechless and shocked.

“It’s a shock to even know (the family),” Lanza’s former bus driver, Marsha Moskowitz, told CNN. “You can’t understand what happened.”

Though, some who knew Lanza were not surprised that the withdrawn 20-year-old finally snapped.

“Adam Lanza has been a weird kid since we were 5 years old,” former classmate Tim Dalton wrote on Twitter. “As horrible as this was, I can’t say I am surprised . . . Burn in hell, Adam.”

We’ll continue to keep you updated as more details become known.