Highlights of search warrants in Newtown shooting
Mar 29, 2013, 7:00 AM
(AP) – Highlights of the disclosures in the search warrants and prosecutor’s statement released Thursday in the Newtown school shooting:
_ Adam Lanza killed 26 people inside Sandy Hook Elementary School with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle and took his own life with a Glock 10 mm handgun within five minutes of shooting his way into the building, State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III said. He said Lanza had another loaded handgun with him inside the school as well as three, 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster. Sedensky said 154 spent .223 casings were recovered at the scene. A loaded 12-gauge Saiga shotgun was found in the Honda Civic Lanza drove to the school and the warrants said there were two magazines containing a total of 70 shotgun rounds. The warrant does not offer further explanation, and authorities did not respond to questions, but some Saiga shotguns can be fitted with magazines that hold up to 30 rounds.
_ The guns used in the shootings were apparently all purchased by the shooter’s mother, Sedensky said. A gun locker at their house was open when police arrived and there was no indication that it had been broken into, he said.
_ Authorities found a cache of weapons in Lanza’s home and car, including a bayonet, knives and swords. More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were found at his house along with paper targets. They also found a holiday card containing a check made out to Lanza to buy a firearm, authored by his mother.
_ Investigators found a news article on a 2008 school shooting at Northern Illinois University.
_ Lanza was an avid gamer who played “Call of Duty” and other games and rarely left his house, an unnamed person told investigators. A Sony Playstation 2 game console and a shoebox containing video game parts and memory cards were found.
_ Books found at Lanza’s house included “Look Me in the Eye _ My life with Asperger’s” and “Born on a Blue Day _ Inside the Mind of an Autistic Savant.” A mediator who worked with Lanza’s parents during their divorce has said Lanza was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism-like disorder that is not associated with violence.
_ In a duffel bag, they found a National Rifle Association certificate that belonged to Adam Lanza. The NRA said Lanza and his mother were not members.
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