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Suspected shooter Adam Lanza is shown in this image from 2005. (Twitter photo/@ABC)
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - A law enforcement official says that the 20-year-old suspect in the Connecticut school shootings killed his mother at their home Friday and then drove his mother's car to the school where he went on a deadly rampage.

Adam Lanza's mother, Nancy, was a teacher at the school, said the law enforcement official.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Adam Lanza's older brother, Ryan, 24, of Hoboken, N.J., was questioned by law enforcement in New Jersey and was extremely cooperative, said a second law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation. Ryan Lanza is not believed to have any involvement and is not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records, said the second official.

Ryan Lanza told law enforcement that his brother was believed to suffer from a personality disorder and be "somewhat autistic" and lived with the mother in Connecticut, the second official added.

Earlier, a law enforcement official mistakenly transposed the brothers' first names.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they official were not authorized to speak publicly about the developing investigation.

The first official said Adam Lanza is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to the first official, the suspect drove to the scene of the shootings in his mother's car. Three guns were found at the scene- a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols- and a .223-caliber rifle. The rifle was recovered from the back of a car at the school. The two pistols were recovered from inside the school.

Meanwhile, former Jersey Journal staff writer Brett Wilshe said he has spoken with Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, who told Wilshe the shooter may have had Ryan Lanza's identification.

Ryan Lanza has a Facebook page that posted updates Friday afternoon that read that "it wasn't me" and "I was at work."

One of the officials said earlier Friday that a girlfriend of one of the Lanza brothers and another friend were missing in New Jersey. Subsequently, the third official said police had talked with the girlfriend. One of the friends had to be reached in California, so it took some time.

___

Associated Press writers Adam Goldman in Washington and Samantha Henry in Newark, N.J., contributed to this report.


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Re micho
    Ask Chicago how their strict gun control laws are working.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Leave it to the Left to exploit
    a tragedy and attack our rights.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    Steve and the NRA defend the rights
    of the deranged to have immediate and unlimited access to all of the firepower needed to slaughter classrooms full of tiny tots.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Case in point
    Thanks for helping micho.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Micho please see previous comments
    from myself and patriot explaining your delusional demeanor.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Let me know when you've
    come to your senses. This isn't your best self.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    As expected, the gun nuts have no actual
    thoughts on what might be done to address the nut cases with guns. The best Steve, e.g., can do is call names.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Have yet to hear anything sensable
    From the Anti 2nd amendment crowd. No law could have prevented what happened. The current laws in CT did prevent him from buying a gun earlier.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Lets lay blame with
    Hollywood, video games and the immoral social attitude of today.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Lets ban everything that could and
    does take human life.