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Running Head: ADAM LANZA

Adam Lanza

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ADAM LANZA

2 Adam Lanza

Mass shooting, especially those in schools, has become a significant issue in the US for almost two decades. This has contributed to numerous debates concerning gun control policies. Many scholars, policy-making, and government have been on edge in trying to discover the main reasons behind these increased mass shootings. However, the numerous researches have led to a shift in focus from gun controls to understanding a school shooting's risk factors. Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that happened in 2012 and led to the injury of 2 people and the death of 28 people. After coming from home where he murdered his mother, Adam Lanza went ahead to fatally shoot twenty student and six teachers in the Elementary school before finishing himself. This paper will focus on the risk factors that led to the Sandy Hook shooting and analysis of the incident using two theories. The attack on the Elementary school began after Lanza killed his mother. The 20 years old shot his mother to death, at home in Newtown. He shot his Nancy Lanza four times with a gun that he purchased together with an M16 assault rifle. According to Michael Ray (2020), the two rifles were in the collection of the other firearms that Lanza used that day. After killing his mother, Adam Lanza destroyed his computer, making the evidence gathering process challenging[ CITATION Mic20 \l 1033 ]. Adam Lanza then gathered his gun collection and drove to Sandy Elementary in Newton. Lanza left a short gun in the car and shot his way into the school only to meet the school principal, Dawn Hochsprung, and the school’s psychologist Mary at around 9.30 AM. He shot the two school personnel and headed to individual classrooms. To ensure less damage and loss of lives, the teachers immediately used the school’s lockdown protocols to safeguard their students. Lanza entered a classroom that was led by teacher Lauren and killed her

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together with fourteen other children. Law enforcement was notified at around 9.35 AM, and after some minutes, they responded. In days after the attack, a lot of investigation was done to uncover the attack's motive. According to the New York Times, experts had called for sudden measures to try to help understand Adam Lanza's shooting in Elementary school. According to the experts, there seemed to be personal factors, social dynamics, school dynamics, and family dynamics[ CITATION Cow14 \l 1033 ]. The medical records indicate that he was diagnosed with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism. According to Rowhani-Rahbar (2019), there is always a significant relationship between mental disorders and school or mass shooting[ CITATION Row19 \l 1033 ]. A lot of health documents indicated that Adam Lanza was an introvert and often isolated himself from others. Many school shooters often have difficulty connecting with others and are mostly viewed as loners[ CITATION Row19 \l 1033 ]. Most of the time, Adam would isolate himself in his room and play video games. He was never good at having a relationship with others[ CITATION Cow14 \l 1033 ]. Most likely, he often felt comfortable being by himself and would mostly prefer online interaction. There is also a likeliness that Lanza disliked people's appearances. US Newsweek notes that Lanza did not like being touched as a child and mostly would get into physical altercations with any kid that would lay their fingers on him[ CITATION Ziv14 \l 1033 ]. He also had a hatred for others. For example, in an online text, he wrote, “incessantly have nothing other than scorn for humanity.”[ CITATION Cow14 \l 1033 ] Lanza’s social dynamic report indicates that he did not have many friends since he was always home, where he schooled from the 10th grade[ CITATION Cow14 \l 1033 ]. It is likely that he developed negative feelings against other people through video games and

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would not like to be touched by other people. The New York Times indicated that video games, such as StarCraft and Warcraft, which Lanza played most of the time, affected him negatively by influencing aggressiveness in him[ CITATION Ziv14 \l 1033 ]. There is also a possibility of Lanza's behavior resulting from the issues that his family underwent. For instance, according to US Newsweek, Adam Lanza's parents got divorced in 2009, and he spent most of his time with his brother and mother. Even though his mother always homeschooled Adam, he still shifted and was always isolated and spent most of the time alone. He would respond to his mother through email though they were in the same house[ CITATION Ziv14 \l 1033 ]. I have chosen two theories for this case and the incident. They are the General strain theory and social learning theory. Robert Agnew's General Strain theory marks one of the most respected theories when it comes to criminology. Robert Merton initially developed this theory. He argued that everybody in the US is often encouraged to keep struggling for their cultural goals of monetary success. However, it is not a secret that the lower-class individuals are repeatedly denied the chances of achieving these goals. Children in such families may not have enough to achieve success through academics because of a lack of schools, enough funds, and lack of money to further education. As a result, many low-class individuals have many strains in their way to success[ CITATION Agn15 \l 1033 ]. After developing upon the foundation built by Robert Merton, Agnew came up with the general strain theory that states that the strains in many people's lives are the leading contributors to them committing individual criminal acts. These strains pressure people to engage in crime through the adverse feelings that they bring[ CITATION Agn15 \l 1033 ]. For instance, Agnew seemed to argue that those individuals in society that are in a financial strain but still wish to achieve their goals often would resort to crime so that they can achieve their

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goals. There are characters of strains that Agnew discussed which are more likely to lead to crime. These characters include people viewing strains as unjust, they see them as high magnitude, they associate them with low control to social activities, and strains create some pressure which influences people to crime[ CITATION Agn15 \l 1033 ]. According to Agnew, the three categories of strains include failure to attain valued positive goals, removing positive stimuli, and introducing other negative stimuli[ CITATION Agn15 \l 1033 ]. After Lanza had committed the crime in Elementary school, the investigation was held to determine his behaviors' main reasons. In a report offered by the FBI, there was evidence to show Lanza's appearance in the school days before the incident. At home, there were several articles on mass shootings, violent crimes. There was a lot of evidence that shows a link between his incidents and recent activities. In referring to general strain theory, there are a lot of strains that influenced Lanza’s actions. Lanza's social life indicates that his behavior was equally odd, like his physical environment. In the fifth grade, Lanza had a mental illness, but as the investigators' reports indicate, the condition was never treated[ CITATION Cow14 \l 1033 ]. The relationship between Lanza and his parents deteriorated and eventually became through emails. In his life, the most significant source of strain was the struggles he underwent with the effects of his reported illness. Lanza's anxiety and obsession and his inability to relieve these symptoms caused strains in the presentation of noxious stimuli. The second theory is the social learning theory in criminology. The theory attempts to explain interaction within a society and how it impacts the growth of self. This theory focuses on the individual learning process to the extent of performing certain behaviors. The theory has its root deep into psychology, and much of the shaping is from psychologists Albert Bandura[ CITATION Tit12 \l 1033 ]. In many scenarios, sociologists often use this theory to explain and understand crime and deviance. According to Bandura, people often engage in

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criminal activities due to their interactions with people that engage in crime. They get reinforced with criminal behaviors as they learn beliefs that make the crime seem the only option. As a result, people begin to see crime as something good to do. Learning about crime or deviant behavior to an individual is the same as learning conforming behaviors. These people get to learn them as they frequently interact with people who have such criminal traits. Therefore, one's association with criminals is the best indicator of their future criminal acts. In his theory, Bandura postulates that there are three mechanisms that individuals learn to engage in criminal acts. These acts include differential reinforcement, beliefs, and modeling. Gun violence has been a severe issue in the US. This is in particular concerning the lots of mass and school shootings that have happened in recent years. After Adam Lanza had entered the Elementary school in Newtown and killed 26 people, many people in the US were shocked. As a result, they wanted to understand how such an incident could happen. Officers from different fields and offices brought their heads together to engage in an inclusive investigation. Upon investigating Lanza’s background and family, they found a lot of factors that influenced his actions. Just like the social learning theory blames interactions as the cause of crime, Lanza did not have relationships with others but instead had time for video games and loneliness. He frequently played games such as StarCraft and Witchcraft that involve many conflicts and criminal acts[ CITATION Cow14 \l 1033 ]. The more he interacted with the games, the more he disliked people and shifted him much to crime. In conclusion, Lanza’s shooting is best explained by the theory of general strain. This because the general strain theory claims that obstacles in life could influence me to commit a crime. Lanza encountered an incident of having mental issues, anxiety, and obsession at a younger age, but none got treated. The more he tried to fight these untreated symptoms, the

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more he found it challenging. The strains made him unable to reach his valued goal. Lanza's mass murder is solely due to the strains he faced while growing, and he had no help to tackles them.

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References Agnew, S. J. (2015). Strain Theories and Crime. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 495-500. Cowan, A. L. (2014, November 21). Adam Lanza’s Mental Problems ‘Completely Untreated’ Before Newtown Shootings, Report Says. Retrieved January 13, 2021, from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/22/nyregion/before-newtownshootings-adam-lanzas-mental-problems-completely-untreated-report-says.html Ray, M. (2020, December 7). Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Retrieved from Britannica : https://www.britannica.com/event/Newtown-shootings-of-2012 Rowhani-Rahbar, A. a. (2019). School shootings in the US: what is the state of evidence? Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(6), 683-684. Tittle, J. R. (2012). Social Learning Theory and Human Reinforcement. Sociological Spectrum, 32(2), 157-177. Ziv, S. (2014, November 25). Report Details Adam Lanza's Life Before Sandy Hook Shootings. Retrieved from NewsWeek : https://www.newsweek.com/report-detailsadam-lanzas-life-sandy-hook-shootings-286867...