Newtown Shooter (no guns in this discussion please)
 

Have I missed something? I thought there was going to be an investigation to find a motive for the shooting. Did the shooter have a mental condition? I think I heard that his mother was thinking of committing him to some sort of institution. Or perhaps it was just a threat.

I think I heard that she compared him to her students. She might have bragged about how good they were and then perhaps wondered why he couldn't be more like them. That would explain a lot.

I have a hunch: What if they both had a mental condition that went undiagnosed. For example, what if they both had undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome? It has been known to run in families, right?

Fyi, His mother had zero connection to the school

Investigations
 

FYI, investigations take more than an hour (as seen on TV). The facts will come out when the investigation is complete. It can't be rushed if it's gonna be through. I have no idea where you get your information from, but it certainly isn't a reliable source. No more rumors please.:sigh:

This investigation is going to take months to complete. Law enforcement has hundreds of people to question, and questioning all the children involved will have to be done in the most thoughtful way possible.

The public may never know the shooter's motive. He destroyed his computer, his mother is dead, he had severed relationships with his father and brother, and it's been reported that he had no friends.

The police, school, town will be very careful as to how they release information, when they release information, etc. because as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow lawsuits will plague this town. The plaintiff attorneys will sue any potential defendants that had even a remote connection to this incident including the gun manufacturers, ammuntion manufacturer, and the medical community that had any connection to the shooter police, school etc.

Good points. Let us just see what comes out of the investigation. Do not believe that no one else talked to him at some time leading up to the December 14, 2012 tragedy. He may not have had any close friends but his demeanor at other places like movie theaters, computer game stores, shooting ranges, churches, grocery stores and the like could reveal something.

Asperger's syndrome
 

Just wanted to point out that Asperger's syndrome does NOT produce the inclination to commit mass murder. However, there are unrelated mental conditions that can trigger violent and bizzare behavior. Please do not confuse those conditions with Asperger's syndrome. People with Asperger's syndrome have a tough enough time getting by without being pegged as potential massd murderers. They often lack what we consider normal social skills, and so they can stand out like a sore thumb, but it does not affect their moral antenna.While I am not a mental health professional, if you were to check with a competent mental health professional I'm sure he or she would confirm the accuracy of this response.

Swampy

Swampy

amen!

Interesting language in your post...... "have I missed something?"
"I thought" ..... "I think I heard" ......."did the shooter have a mental condition?" "I think I heard that she,....... etc."
"I have a hunch.... What if they both had a mental condition etc."

Sounds like you played too many games of Clue.....
Can we all stick to facts and then find truth?

This might be of interest. National Institute of Health on Aspergers.
 

Asperger Syndrome Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

List of famous people who MIGHT have had Aspergers. That is a big MIGHT though. http://www.disabled-world.com/artman...cle_2086.shtml

Thank you for clearing up the issue regarding Aspergers syndrome. I would say that it is fairly obvious that the shooter suffered from some kind of mental illness or how could he have done what he did? However, people with Aspergers are not a danger to society. A very good example of someone with Aspergers, I believe, is Sheldon on Big Bang Theory.

:agree:

I don't get the point of the post. It looks like you missed everything. The majority of what you imply was dismissed within a day of the shooting, so if you haven't kept up on any of the actual facts how would you know if there has been any investigation or not?

Charles Manson, Ted Bundy and other notorious killers in US criminal history did terrible deeds but I would not call any of these people criminally insane. They planned very carefully most of the time for the evil deeds they did. I just see the Newtown mass murderer as being in some kind of deranged rage twisted around his mother's feelings towards him and her plan to have him committed. If that was truly her plan, she obvioulsy thought he had mental problems.

The Manson prosecutor had some comments on the insanity of Charles Manson. He was evil and not mentally ill. Q&A: Vincent Bugliosi on Charles Manson - TIME

Thanks to everyone for posting. I forgot to say that I don't have television so I'm sure I did miss a lot. What little I know is from the Daily Sun and radio news reports.

When I gave the example of Asperger's Syndrome, it was simply an example. The word example means: One of a number of things. I wondered what would happen if two people in a family, both with Asperger's, had arguments. If they can't read each others body language or facial expressions, how do they know when enough is enough? How do they know where the breaking point is? I simply don't know and I worry about it because I am associated with a similar situation.

Interesting column by Phyllis Schlafly on Adam Lanza's violent video game addiction.
 

Thanks for providing the link. I did read that article in The Daily Sun. It seems to answer the question as to why he did what he did. But I don't think Phyllis Schlafly, as intelligent as she may be, is a pshchologist. If I remember correctly, she's a lawyer. Having said that, I agree she may be on to something.

But the question I would ask is why do some young people get fixated on horor in the first place? Is there some condition that predisposes them to be attracted to violence? I checked out a DVD from the library staring Sylvester Stallone and it turned out to be extremely bloody. There were heads bursting open from gun fire and heads being removed by gun fire. And I found it repulsive. I would hesitate to check out any more movies that look like violence is the main attraction.

I know a young person who likes horor movies. I mean he is really into it and says so. I hesitate to connect this with Asperger's because I don't know enough about it. But it makes me wonder if there might be a connection. This is not to suggest that everyone is going to be the same. No, that would be foolish. But could there be a predisposition? I hope that no one will find this offensive but I can't get this out of my mind because it kind of frightens me. I see lots of danger signs but don't feel free to fully disclose them. On the other hand, it may turn out to be nothing.

It is probably nothing as far as horror movies go as horror movies have been around for a very long time and books with horror themes even longer. These mass shootings, however, seem to be a product of the last 50 years or so. There would also be a huge number of these type of shooting sprees because of how many extremely graphic horror movies are now out there to watch from the Jigsaw movies back through the various Halloween and Friday the Thirteenth series.

Grimm's Fairy Tales from 1812-1814 are full of horror and I do not remember any mass killings coming from reading them. Fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm translated by Margaret Hunt

Also found this article interesting-- Can horror make you happy?