The Connecticut school massacre gunman Adam Lanza spent hours playing violent video games such as Call Of Duty in a windowless bunker, according to an interview with a plumber who worked at the family home.
Barney Henderson, The Telegraph
Dec. 18, 2012, 7:09 AM
Lanza killed 20 children aged six and seven and six adults at Sandy Hook elementary school having previously shot dead his mother Nancy last Friday. He then shot himself dead. Police are still searching for a motive.
It has emerged that Lanza spent his time in the basement of the family's four-bedroom home in Newtown playing video games, such as Call of Duty and obsessing over guns and military equipment, according to an interview in The Sun with plumber Peter Wlasuk.
Call Of Duty is controversial because of its violent content. The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK banned daytime advertising of the game earlier this year.
"It was a beautiful house but he lived in the basement. I always thought that was strange," said Mr Wlasuk, who went into the basement on several occasions while working at the house.
"But he had a proper set up down there -- computers, a bathroom, bed and desk and a TV. There were no windows."
"The boys were fans of the military. They had posters all over the wall in the basement.
"They had one poster of every piece of military equipment the US ever made.
"It was a huge poster with every tank every made. The kids could tell you about guns they had never seen from the 40s, 50s and 60s.
"The kids who play these games know all about them.
"I'm not blaming the games for what happened. But they see a picture of a historical gun and say 'I've used that on Call Of Duty'."
It has also been claimed that Nancy Lanza taught Lanza to handle firearms to instill him with a "sense of responsibility" and even took him to the shooting range just days before the atrocity.
Lanza was apparently so emotionally detached in his teens that school officials assigned him a psychiatrist. They feared that he might harm himself, but did not regard him as a danger to others.
Lanza, a painfully shy computer "nerd" who was said to have had a development disorder, "loved being careful" with guns and "made it a source of pride", according to friends of his mother Nancy.
Mrs Lanza, a gun enthusiast who owned at least five weapons and was the first victim of his rampage, introduced Adam and his older brother Ryan to firearms at a young age. Indeed, she took her younger son to a local firing range just days before the rampage, CNN reported.
"She told me she had wanted to introduce them to the guns to teach, especially Adam, a sense of responsibility," a friend told NBC television.
"Guns require a lot of respect and she really tried to instill that. And he took to it. He loved being careful with them. He made it a source of pride."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/adam-lanza-played-call-of-duty-2012-12#ixzz2FXxLD6Dj
Liz Woolley
Lanza also had a mild form of Autism (Asperger's). Consider this formula that Cris Rowan (clinical psychologist) and I came up with: (technology addiction from youth, with Tetris Effect) + (violent media exposure) +/- (psychotropic medication) + (deprivation of movement, touch, human connection and nature) = shooter
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
+ smashed computer.. which I thought was rather interesting too...
Figure in his mother's survivalist, gun enthusiast mentality, too. I've lived 55 years and never ever had a need for a gun. The one time I ever even wished I had one I'd have killed someone and probably myself. That that mother provided access to those sorts of guns to that boy - perfect storm.
Acceptance. When I am disturbed, it is because a person, place, thing, or situation is unacceptable to me. I find no serenity until I accept my life as being exactly the way it is meant to be. Nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Acknowledge the problem, but live the solution!
My thought was that the Mother smashed the computers and Adam became so angry and his brain was so scrambled, that he shot her in the face 4 times. I contacted the police in Newton, CT to share this with them, but they are too busy pushing gun control now.
My son killed himself sitting in front of the computer with the Everquest game on it. I made the cops take a picture of that. The cops still said it didn't have anything to do with the games.
Liz Woolley
Interesting... very interesting.
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
I'd try to contact Dad.. If gaming was heavily involved it might be something he wouldn't mind publically being brought to light.
We all are aware of what gaming addicts do to damage the entire family.
I'm so sorry for your loss, Liz. Thank you for giving back to this community so others can be helped.
The events of last week had me wondering if he was a gamer which put Adam Lanza and my son in my mind at the same time. Now that is an awful truth. I am so grateful that my son is in a supportive, game free environment where he is being force to look at his issues. We do not know if this treatment will work for him but I do know that we are doing everything in our power to help him.
"Sometimes the purest form of love is a slap."
So either she smashed it in frustration and he snapped, or he snapped and then smashed it, and there went the last link to reality.
My father told me his mother was planning to have him committed, and he found out. And that she was a volunteer in the kindergarten class, so he destroyed everything she cared for. I can't find confirmation for either but that also could fit.
Edit: The 'committed' report was on Fox News, which I don't consider a credible source, and apparently was incorrect. Maybe. Maybe we'll never know for sure.
Twelve miles into the forest, 12 miles out.
Left my poisonous game July 4, 2012. Left online communities June 4, 2013.
Can anyone even have someone "commited" anymore? I think only when they are in danger of hurting themselves.
Requires court intervention. Just like web Brittany Spears' family went to court and had a conservator appointed for her, except different.
Twelve miles into the forest, 12 miles out.
Left my poisonous game July 4, 2012. Left online communities June 4, 2013.
Yes. If someone is a danger to others or themselves, then doctor can request a short hospital admission that could lead to longer hospitalization based on court intervention.
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
My son did have epilepsy and the amount of time he spent on the game, caused grand mall seizures. I had both the ambulance and the cops at my house after one such episode, and made them take him to the emergency room (he was 21 years old at the time). I was crying out for help for him. It was there that I asked the Dr. about having him committed. They did not think that was bad enough, because he had not threatened to harm himself or others. I also had no say in treatment for him because he was an adult and I was not his guardian.
I have since found out that if anyone threatens to harm him/herself or someone else, they can be taken to the emergency room (even if you have no insurance) and the professionals there have to commit him/her. You do not have to have a court order to do this!
Liz Woolley
I heard on some news, thinking it was ABC or NBC but couldn't swear which if either - I tend to agree with Ex about Fox news, least credible of any possible source - that she was in bed, by all appearances sleeping when he shot her in the face. My immediate guess was that he destroyed the computers in an attempt to prevent authorities from learning more about motives, etc. I'd certainly be interested in hearing more from the father and brother.
Acceptance. When I am disturbed, it is because a person, place, thing, or situation is unacceptable to me. I find no serenity until I accept my life as being exactly the way it is meant to be. Nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Acknowledge the problem, but live the solution!
I heard that the Father and brother have not been in contact for several years....
Liz Woolley
I'm just watching a clip on Access Hollywood about violent video games.
This is my opinion - there were guns and mentally ill people before violent video games. There weren't mass shootings at schools. This started happening in the 80's!!!
Liz Woolley
When this shooting happened and I heard he shot his mother first, I immediately wondered if he was a gamer whose mother had taken away his access to the game recently. That may yet turn out to be the case, when all is said and done.
"Small service is true service while it lasts. Of humblest friends, bright creature! scorn not one
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun." -------William Wordsworth
Same here!
As a parent of a boy (albeit he's only 2 years old) I fearfully anticipate the day when screen time becomes an issue in our home.
-6 Years Free of Online Gaming-
I agree with you, Gamersmom. This kid was in a rage to kill her, like he did....
Liz Woolley
It has nothing to do with sex, solei. My daughter is 8 and we have daily talks about telling your devices No.
Twelve miles into the forest, 12 miles out.
Left my poisonous game July 4, 2012. Left online communities June 4, 2013.
"Lanza had thousands of dollars worth of video games and preferred to play on his computer with other anonymous gamers, investigators said."
"By destroying his hard drive investigators will not be able to trace what games he was playing, who he was playing with and, more importantly, whether he gave anybody forewarning of the horrific violence he unleashed. Anything he may have written on his computer that could have provided a glimpse into Lanza's thinking also would be irretrievable.
Depending how the metallic disk at the center of a computer hard drive is broken or cut into pieces, it can be difficult or even impossible to retrieve information, said Eric Friedberg, New York- based, co-president of Stroz Friedberg, a computer forensics and investigations firm."
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/newtown-sandy-hook-school-shooting/hc-lanza-ghost-20121219,0,359337.story
I think MOM destroyed his hard drive!
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
Thank you for the article, Andy. I am posting the complete article below:
Sandy Hook Shooter Lanza Left Little For Investigators To Trace
By DAVE ALTIMARI, EDMUND H. MAHONY and JON LENDER, daltimar@courant.com The Hartford Courant
10:23 p.m. EST, December 19, 2012
After a week of intensive investigation following the slaughter of 20 first graders and six women at an elementary school in Newtown, normally promising lines of inquiry have turned up little if anything to shed light on what motivated Adam Lanza, the reclusive, 20-year old gunman, to kill.
A preliminary examination of his cellular telephone showed that he had made or received few, if any calls, investigators and others familiar with the matter said. No information has yet emerged from investigators on any possible text messages he may have sent or received.
Lanza appears to have spent much of his time during the weeks before the shooting in the basement of the home he shared with his mother Nancy, playing violent video games on his computer, investigators believe based on interviews.
And the thin, withdrawn, young man -- a computer tech club member while in high school -- destroyed his home computer in a fashion that experts believe may have left it worthless to forensic examiners, as if he had set out to erase clues to his thinking, or who he may have communicated with, before he set out to commit mass homicide.
Before shooting his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, investigators and others familiar with the matter said Lanza also repeatedly shot his mother Nancy, killing the only person with whom he is believed to have been socially engaged.
"He killed the only person who really knew him well and knew what made him tick, so figuring out the why here is going to be difficult," a law enforcement official said.
State police detectives returned to the home on Yogananda Street home he shared with his mother Wednesday night. They have been combing the 4,000 square-foot house since moments after the gunfire stopped inside the school.
Lanza had two bedrooms in the house, including one in the basement in which he kept his computer, his computer video games and other possessions. Lanza had thousands of dollars worth of video games and preferred to play on his computer with other anonymous gamers, investigators said.
The basement also is where Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast and target shooter, kept her collection of weapons in a locked box. She had at least five weapons - two handguns a semi-automatic rifle, a .22 caliber rifle and a shotgun. Lanza had all the weapons except the .22 with him when he drove to the school.
By destroying his hard drive investigators will not be able to trace what games he was playing, who he was playing with and, more importantly, whether he gave anybody forewarning of the horrific violence he unleashed. Anything he may have written on his computer that could have provided a glimpse into Lanza's thinking also would be irretrievable.
Depending how the metallic disk at the center of a computer hard drive is broken or cut into pieces, it can be difficult or even impossible to retrieve information, said Eric Friedberg, New York- based, co-president of Stroz Friedberg, a computer forensics and investigations firm.
"It is hard to put Humpty Dumpty together again," Friedberg said. "I have never actually seen this done - but the physics would say that you could do it. If it is in three or four pieces the physics suggest that it is conceivable."
The odds against retrieval of information increase with damage to the disk, he said.
The massive investigation team, which includes state, federal and Newtown officers, has been broken into separate units each with a different task. The investigation into Lanza's computer is being handled by federal authorities, who also are investigating Internet threats and postings that have been made since the slayings.
Authorities said they have determined that a hoaxer, on Dec. 12, published a fictitious conversation, purportedly instigated by Lanza, on an Internet chat room frequented by computer enthusiasts. The first post purportedly made by Lanza read, "I'm going to kill myself on Friday and it will make the news. be watching at 9 am."
Some days later, someone opened an offensive Twitter account that seemed designed to further hurt the families of Lanza's victims.
"Someone is going to be arrested," a law enforcement official said.
Other units are tracing the history of the guns used in the attack, while others are interviewing school personnel and students and others are probing the background of the shooter. Lanza had no job, never used social media, seemingly had no friends and rarely if ever had any contact with his brother or father. He did obtain a driver's license in July of 2010, three months after he turned 18, listing him as 5 feet 10 inches tall, with blue eyes and not an organ donor.
Two state police crime squads have been processing the evidence at the school, with the third one at the house.
Five days after the shootings investigators still are collecting bullets from inside and outside the school. Lanza fired so many rounds that many bullets pierced cars in the school parking lot.
Sources said that Nancy Lanza owned at least five guns and that all of them were purchased legally since her divorce in 2009.
Adam Lanza was carrying three weapons when he entered the school, two pistols and the Bushmaster rifle that he used to spray the hallway and two classrooms with bullets. A source said that he left a shotgun in the trunk of his mother's car, which he drove to the scene.
Police also are still trying to determine how long Lanza had been planning Friday's massacre. There is no indication that he made any purchases in the days before.
After the killings, authorities received a phone call that someone recognized Lanza's photo on television and said that he had tried to buy a gun on the Tuesday before the murders but balked at the required two-week waiting period.
Authorities visited gun shops, pawn shops and shooting ranges in the Danbury area and searched through video surveillance tapes at some of the stores. Sources said they found no evidence that Lanza had visited any gun stores last week.
Sources said the person that the caller thought was Lanza was not him.
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/newtown-sandy-hook-school-shooting/hc-lanza-ghost-20121219,0,359337.story
Liz Woolley
I had these same thoughts, when I first heard about it and there had been no mention of gaming, ("I bet he was a gamer and his mum took his games away")
and then I told myself off, ("Geeze Mel, don't be so self involved, trying to link such an awful freakin tragedy to your own experiences")
but there it is, on some level I was sure of it, and many other people here thought it too so I don't feel so bad.
What I find really interesting is that so many people here, with the intimate knowlege of gaming that you have, immediately see the possible connection and openly discuss it. Because I bet there weren't a lot of alcoholics who immediately thought "geeze, he must have been drunk" or pot smokers who immediately thought "geeze he must have been stoned" or...well you get the idea. Somewhere in all of us, we see and feel the propensity that gaming has towards violence, in vulnerable individuals. It's scary. Scarier still that the powers that be won't recognise it.
Video Games Targeted By Senate In Wake Of Sandy Hook Shooting
Posted: 12/19/2012 12:15 pm EST Updated: 12/19/2012 10:02 pm EST
Amanda Terkel
aterkel@huffingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has introduced one of Congress' first pieces of legislation related to the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.: a bill to study the impact of violent video games on children.
"This week, we are all focused on protecting our children. At times like this, we need to take a comprehensive look at all the ways we can keep our kids safe. I have long expressed concern about the impact of the violent content our kids see and interact with every day," said Rockefeller, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Rockefeller's bill would direct the National Academy of Sciences to lead the investigation on video games' impact and submit a report on its findings within 18 months.
The legislation comes after reports suggested that Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza may have played video games like "Call of Duty" and "Starcraft."
Other lawmakers, such as Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), have also expressed support for scrutinizing the content of video games.
"Recent court decisions demonstrate that some people still do not get it," added Rockefeller. "They believe that violent video games are no more dangerous to young minds than classic literature or Saturday morning cartoons. Parents, pediatricians, and psychologists know better. These court decisions show we need to do more and explore ways Congress can lay additional groundwork on this issue. This report will be a critical resource in this process."
In 2011, the Supreme Court struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for a 7-2 majority, said the law was "unprecedented and mistaken" and noted that fairy tales -- which are read to children at bedtime -- have "no shortage of gore."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/video-games-sandy-hook_n_2330741.html
Liz Woolley
I know Jay Rockefeller as I grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. Thats the capitol of WV. "Jay" attended my Fathers church and even though I doubt he would remember me, I wrote him today.
"Dear Mr Rockefeller,
Perhaps you remember my late Father, Dr. William A. Benfield, Jr, of the First Presbyterian Church, in Charleston. I am his youngest son, John. I just became aware of your intent to study "the impact of violent video games on children". I know you will do your best in this endeavor. I belong to a non-profit organization called Online Gamers Anonymous, and we were formed in 2001, when the founders sons' suicide occurred while he was playing a Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing game called "EverQuest". My own life was turned upside down by that game and also a similar game named World of Warcraft. Everyday, our website, www.olganon.org sees a number of gamers seeking help for their "addiction" to MMORPG's, as well as the Parents and Family members of those who have lost contact with reality in the never-ending playing of these games, including "Call of Duty". We offer support and empathy to those who are affected by this excessive game playing. My intent in writing you was to encourage your continuation in researching more about this relatively new problem in our society.
Thank you for spearheading this research.
Sincerely,
John X X "
"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative." --W. Clement Stone
I wrote an article for the American Academy of Ophthalmology titled: "The Perfect Storm for a Killer: Video Game Addiction and Violent Video Games". The president of the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthamology wrote back and will work with me to make a information brochure on the dangers of video games and technology to be handed to all patients who sees a pediatric ophthalmologist.
I drafted the following letter to be sent to congress and other people of influence to rally their support.
Dear [Title] [Name]:
I am sending you my recently published book on the dangers of video games and Internet addiction. As a former gaming addict, I nearly destroyed my marriage, my life, and my medical career by playing 50 to 100 hours weekly for over ten years. My book is titled, Hooked on Games: The Lure & Cost of Video Game & Internet Addiction.
My heart grieves for the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary. As the smoke clears from this tragedy, the question of violent video games and video game addiction must be addressed. Based on reports in the media, the shooter may have shot the mother in fear of being committed for mental illness[1], the computer was destroyed[2], and the shooter played hours of the game 'Call of Duty'[3]. In my years struggling with video game addiction during medical school and ophthalmology residency, I raged when I couldn't play my games. When an addict does not have access to their drug of choice, in the case of video games the digital drug of choice, rage and anger are common. I envision two most likely scenarios in the Sandy Hook shooting: 1) mother smashed the computer and the shooter raged; or 2) shooter smashed the computer and then raged, both being a manifestation of the acute depression followed by refractory psychosis associated with withdrawal symptoms. I've been there, and it is real. Clearly, without additional facts associated with the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, this may only seem theoretical; however, there is hard evidence our society is ignoring.
The perfect storm for the formation of a killer is mental illness combined with violent video games. A child addicted to anything is mentally ill, whether it is an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or video games. When the drug or activity of choice results in dysfunction, this is defined as addiction. Unfortunately, the medical community ignores violent video game addiction because there is no diagnostic ICD-9 code or DSM criteria, the written guide for psychiatric illnesses.
As a society, we agree that pornography leads to sex crimes and deviant sexual behaviors. We generally do not give children access to pornography because of the consequences of this potentially addictive behavior. However, when a game like Grand Theft Auto allows a child to have sex with a prostitute, kill her, and steal her money, we allow teenagers to play because "it is only a game". "It is only a game" is a ridiculous response because we do not allow our children to watch pornography, as "it is only a video".
The evidence for violence and addiction associated with video games extend beyond my personal opinion and experiences. In one national study of over 1,100 8 to 18-year-olds in the United States, Gentile found that 8.5 percent would classify as pathological gamers[4]. Although this could be considered a somewhat small percentage, the true nature of the problem becomes clear when one considers this percentage in population terms. There are about forty million children between eight and eighteen in the United States. Approximately 90 percent of them play video games. If 8.5 percent of them are pathological, that's over 3 million children seriously damaging multiple areas of their lives because of their gaming habits! That's over 3 million children who probably should get some help, but most won't because there is no medical diagnosis for the pathological use of technology. Once there is, it will be similar to the approach focusing on dysfunction. The medical diagnostic definition matters because, until there is one, insurance companies will not pay for treatment.
A new study from Ohio State University that will be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology shows that violent video games promote aggression[5]. The researchers found that people who played a violent video game for three consecutive days showed increases in aggressive behavior and hostile expectations each day they played. Meanwhile, those who played nonviolent games showed no meaningful changes in aggression or hostile expectations over that period.
What happens to our minds when we devote significant hours to a task or an activity? What happens to our brains when we focus hours and hours on a video game? Stickgold and his research team at Harvard University published an experiment in the research journal Science illustrating that people who played the video game Tetris for seven hours over a period of three days experienced hallucinatory replay of the activities as they fell asleep.[6] This phenomenon is referred to as "The Tetris Effect". The game Tetris is a puzzle game where falling blocks of various shapes must be aligned to form a continuous line.[7] When such a line is created, it disappears, and any block above the deleted line will fall. When a certain number of lines are cleared, the game enters a new level. As the game progresses, each level causes the blocks to fall faster. The game ends when the stack of blocks reaches the top of the playing field, and no new blocks are able to fall. Participants playing Tetris have reported intrusive visual images of the game at sleep onset.[8] Please refer to the chapter on the "Tetris Effect: the Melding of Worlds" starting on Page 103 in my book.
When a child has mental illness or addiction to video games, allowing the child's mind to fill with intrusive, violent images is the perfect storm for a non-empathetic killer. Cris Rowan, expert in child psychology and author of the Virtual Child - The terrifying truth about what technology is doing to children, proposes the following formula for the making of a pathological killer:
(technology addiction from youth, with Tetris Effect) + (violent media exposure) +/- (psychotropic medication) + (deprivation of movement, touch, human connection and nature) = pathological killer
Rowan proposes that introduction of technology to children too early results in medical problems, psychological dysfunction, and failure in life. Rowan emphasizes that our technological society has strayed away from traditional teaching and mentoring of children that lead to desirable outcomes.
Whether or not there is an ICD-9 code or DSM criteria for video game and Internet addiction, I know personally it is real from my own struggles with playing 50 to 100 hours a week for more than ten years. I am not alone. I know of an ophthalmologist in his 60's who plays World of Warcraft between patients all day and wears moisture goggles for dry eye, likely from staring at this computer screen. If this surgeon was drinking between patients, then we would not tolerate this behavior. However, because "it is only a game", excessive and problematic video game playing is widely tolerated throughout our society. It is time that our society stands up to make a difference in our children's lives and futures by recognizing and providing treatment options to this pervasive addiction.
Please help me spread the word and educate our society about this horrible addiction destroying lives. I am available to present, deliver workshops, or brainstorm with you in how we can work together to prevent our youth from being addicted to video games and creation of pathologic killers.
Very Respectfully,
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
[1] "Adam Lanza's Motive: Did Fear Of Being Committed Lead To Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting? (UPDATE)". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/adam-lanza-motive_n_2329508.html Accessed 12/21/12.
[2] "Adam Lanza Tried To Destroy His Hard Drive. Here's How We Can Still Follow His Electronic Trail." Slate. http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/12/21/adam_lanza_s_hard_drive_might_be_destroyed_but_we_can_still_follow_his_electronic.html. Accessed 12/21/12.
[3] "Connecticut school massacre: Adam Lanza 'spent hours playing Call Of Duty'". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9752141/Connecticut-school-massacre-Adam-Lanza-spent-hours-playing-Call-Of-Duty.html Accessed 12/21/12.
[4] Gentile, Douglas. "Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18." Psychol Sci. 2009 Jun; 20(6):785.
[5] Violent Video Games: More Playing Time Equals More Aggression. http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/violgametime.htm Accessed 12/21/12
[6] Stickgold et al., "Replaying the game: hypnagogic images in normals and amnesics." Science. 2000 Oct 13;290(5490): 350-3.
[7] "Tetris." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris. Accessed September 19, 2011.
[8] Leutwyler, Kristin. "Tetris Dreams". Scientific American. October 16, 2000. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tetris-dreams. Accessed September 7, 2011.
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
The shooting at Newtown is what ultimately led to me finding this site. As soon as I heard the news, I thought--I bet he games a lot (Like all the others before him). When I heard about his basement lair, I knew there was a serious problem. And this is before I found this site and had any idea that games were addictive, like heroin addictive. It made me very concerned about my stepson (not that he is capable of something like that--he is terrified of real guns), but what the constant gaming could be doing to his brain. So if there is any tiny shred of good to come of this, it might be that more people like me are made aware of the addictive power and life-ruining capability of on-line gaming. And a little more common sense in gun legislation (hope I'm not running afowl of any rules here....) To that end I very much hope that they make publicly available any information about Adam Lanza that they find, however nonconsequential it may seem to them.
"But if I ran the zoo," / Said young Gerald McGrew, "I'd make a few changes. / That's just what I'd do..."
Dr. Seuss
Thats a bit BS no? If he played online it shouldn't be too hard to track his gaming accounts...
Yes... BS! Denial by the media companies! Also, people think Lanza destroyed his computer to "cover his tracks". I don't think so. His mom nuked his computer.
@goingcrazy, check out my YouTube Video:
Wake Up to the Dangers of Violent & Sexually Explicit Video Games, The Digital Crack Fed to Kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF9va-PJpiY
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
Yes! I used to play tetris on my iphone, and got this all the time. It was so weird..
"A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." ~Michel de Montaigne
Not just Tetris either. I still have flashbacks of WoW.
I think he may have smashed his pc out of shame.
BTW it is nearly impossible to commit a person long term for mental illness. There in no money in it long term and no one wants to keep these people committed. Hence no good testimony about how realy sick they are.
Also the need to be "convicted" of insanity by our great court system, which makes it a near impossibility.
You can have them taken to the emergency room real fast, but once they have discharge papers EMTs can't touch them, and won't take them back.
Not good America.
gl hf hugs
leveling in steps, serenity, sponcys, sponsors, exercise, and sleep, (sanity has been downsized) sober from all electronic games since 11/19/2010
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/newtown-sandy-hook-school-shooting/hc-sandyhook-lanza-earplugs-20130106,0,2370630.story-Lanza changed magazines frequently as he fired his way through the first-grade classrooms of Lauren Rousseau and Victoria Soto, sometimes shooting as few as 15 shots from a 30-round magazine, sources said. Investigators are aware that frequent reloading is common in violent video games because an experienced player knows never to enter a new building or room without a full magazine so as not to risk running out of bullets. This has led them to speculate privately that this might be a reason that he replaced magazines frequently.
- In searching the house, police discovered that Lanza had thousands of dollars worth of violent video games.
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
At last! I am starting to hear reports in the news, about video games being part of his motivation.
Articles such as this:
http://www.news.com.au/world/police-explore-sandy-hook-massacre-gunman-adam-lanzas-possible-video-game-motive/story-fndir2ev-1226579928065
We can only hope that someone delves into the addiction aspects.
"But if I ran the zoo," / Said young Gerald McGrew, "I'd make a few changes. / That's just what I'd do..."
Dr. Seuss
PBS' "Frontline" program, "Raising Adam Lanza," airs tonight.
A related article by Hartford, Conn reporters for the Courant is here:
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/259109/
Acceptance. When I am disturbed, it is because a person, place, thing, or situation is unacceptable to me. I find no serenity until I accept my life as being exactly the way it is meant to be. Nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Acknowledge the problem, but live the solution!
The data show that violent media promotes violence. Here is a compelling documentary on violence and media. Video games, as entertainment, is a poweful and influential media on our youths' minds.
Hollywood Unmasked
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPVxyTDFfJM
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
http://www.killology.org/article_teachkid.htm
A Case Study: Paducah, Kentucky
Michael Carneal, the 14-year-old killer in the Paducah, Kentucky school shootings, had never fired a real pistol in his life. He stole a .22 pistol, fired a few practice shots, and took it to school. He fired eight shots at a high school prayer group, hitting eight kids, five of them head shots and the other three upper torso (Grossman & DeGaetana, 1999).
I train numerous elite military and law enforcement organizations around the world. When I tell them of this achievement they are stunned. Nowhere in the annals of military or law enforcement history can we find an equivalent "achievement."
Where does a 14-year-old boy who never fired a gun before get the skill and the will to kill? Video games and media violence.
- LT COL GROSSMAN
Andrew P. Doan, MPH, MD, PhD
My Gaming Addiction Videos on YouTube: YouTube.com/@DrAndrewDoan
*The views expressed are of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Navy, DHA or Department of Defense.
Moved.
Agency: Schools helped Lanza's mom 'appease' him
By PAT EATON-ROBB and MICHAEL MELIA
11/21/2014
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The school system unwittingly enabled Adam Lanza's mother to "accommodate and appease" him as he became more withdrawn socially, according to a state report issued Friday on the man who carried out the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The Office of the Child Advocate report identified missed opportunities to provide more appropriate treatment for Lanza, whose social isolation and obsession with mass killings have been detailed in police reports that concluded the motive for the shootings may never be known.
A thread running through the 114-page report, which refers to Lanza as "AL," is the effort on the part of his parents to accommodate his disabilities, rather than adhering to specialists' recommendations for extensive special education support.
"Both AL's mother and his educational team shared a goal of managing and accommodating, rather than securing treatment for, AL's disabilities, and likely this approach was fueled by a lack of critical information and guidance," the report said.
In the three months before the massacre, Lanza had not left his room in his mother's spacious colonial-style house, where he lived surrounded by an arsenal of weapons and spent long hours playing violent video games. His parents were divorced, and Lanza had not seen his father for two years. The report said Lanza's severe and deteriorating mental health problems, combined with a preoccupation with violence and access to deadly weapons, proved a recipe for mass murder.
The report also provocatively asks whether a family that was not white or as affluent as the Lanzas would have been given the same leeway to manage treatment for their troubled child.
"Is the community more reluctant to intervene and more likely to provide deference to the parental judgment and decision-making of white, affluent parents than those caregivers who are poor or minority?" the report said.
Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, then shot his way into the Newtown school on Dec. 14, 2012, and gunned down 20 children and six educators before committing suicide.
The advocate's office investigates all child deaths in the state for lessons on prevention. The authors of the Newtown report said it aims to reinforce the importance of effective mental health treatment and communication among professionals charged with the care for children.
"Records indicate that the school system cared about AL's success but also unwittingly enabled Mrs. Lanza's preference to accommodate and appease AL through the educational plan's lack of attention to social-emotional support, failure to provide related services, and agreement to AL's plan of independent study and early graduation at age 17," the authors wrote.
The authors said they could not say whether more effective treatment could have prevented the tragedy.
"This report raises, but cannot definitively answer, the question as to whether better access to effective mental health and educational services would have prevented the tragic events at Sandy Hook," they wrote.
The police investigation into the massacre concluded more than a year ago with prosecutors saying that a motive might never be known. It said Lanza was afflicted with mental health problems, but despite his dark interests, he did not display aggressive or threatening tendencies.
Documents released by police in December 2013 included descriptions of sporadic treatment for his mental health troubles. At one point, experts at the Yale Child Studies Center prescribed antidepressant/anti-anxiety medication, but Nancy Lanza discontinued the treatment and never scheduled follow-up visits, police reports said.
A Connecticut judge last year ordered Newtown school officials to give Lanza's records the Office of Child Advocate for its investigation. The governor's Sandy Hook Advisory Commission has been waiting for the office's report before releasing its recommendations on what the state can do to prevent and respond to future mass killings.
Child Advocate Sarah H. Eagan already has met with the families of the victims and Newtown school officials to discuss the findings.
http://news.yahoo.com/newtown-shooters-history-reviewed-report-064530051.html
Liz Woolley
There's so much wrong with our educational system and mental health system when it comes to serving kids like Adam Lanza, I don't even know where to begin. I don't know much about his mom, but according to what I've read online today, many attempts were made to obtain help for her son. While statements are made that she didn't take advice or advantage of treatments, there's little explanation (on her behalf) as to why. I can think of many reasons why an educated parent would not follow the advice of a school administrator or mental health provider, with good reason, especially when online gaming is involved. I don't think it's fair to make Mrs. Lanza out to be a mom who simply appeased her son. So many variables contributed to this tragedy that I don't think one person or entity can take the blame.
Having said that, this was an act beyond comprehension. The loss of innocent lives is too crushing for us to dwell on for long. God bless those families and the memory of all those beautiful little angels we lost that day, especially as we approach the holidays. So so sad.