Adam is doing well here, and seems to be enjoying the new school, Lanza wrote to a friend back in Kingston, N.H., in a Feb. 9, 1999, email. She had been thinking about going wherever he decided to study engineering - Seattle or one of the Carolinas - and live nearby, according to theNew York Post. Will this tragedy profoundly change the divisive debate over guns in America? If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website. John Bergquist, Nancy's friend, later told theHartford Courant, "Her life revolved around caring for Adam." Adam Lanza, 20, had lived his whole life at the $1.4million home in Newtown where he killed his mother while she lay in bed in her pajamas. Adrees Latif/Reuters. Before driving to the school, he shot and killed his mother at their Newtown home. Mourners at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 15, 2012, the day after Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six staff members at the school. ', But he said he never became close friends with her because she was 'high-strung. The report did not identify a specific motive for the shooting, stating, "The evidence clearly shows that the shooter planned his actions, including the taking of his own life, but there is no clear indication why he did so, or why he targeted Sandy Hook elementary school. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Explore the Courants continuing coverage of The Tragedy in Newtown.. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, it was widely reported that Nancy Lanza was a kindergarten teacher at the elementary school. Because of concerns that published accounts of Lanza's autism could result in a backlash against others with the condition, autism advocates campaigned to clarify that autism is a brain-related developmental disorder rather than a mental illness. She loved to go to Red Sox games, and thats the Nancy I knew.'. 05:00 GMT 15 Dec 2012 By N. R. Kleinfield, Ray Rivera and Serge F. Kovaleski - The New York Times. Michele Gay, whose 7-year-old daughter died in the shooting, found "forgiveness incredibly liberating." By now the world knows quite well . His severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems were combined with an atypical preoccupation with violence. I think she had the guns for self-defense because she lived alone.'. At the meeting, Milas said, Adam Lanza's brother Ryan said a few words in support of the adviser, who he said had taken his brother under his wing. where did nancy lanza workhow old is kristine sorensenhow old is kristine sorensen President Obama honored the six slain adults posthumously with the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal on February 15, 2013. He is from U.S.. We have estimated Russell Hanoman said Adam Lanza was 'clearly a troubled child. According to Statista, this makes Sandy Hook the second deadliest school shooting in American history, with the first being the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre. . Nancy and Peter's first son, Ryan John Lanza, was born on April 10, 1988. Born in Salem, Mass., the daughter of Dorothy (Huse . So, getting back to why we are all Adam Lanza's parents. He obliterated her identity while she was in her bed wearing her pajamas in the place where she homeschooled him for the last few years of his life. It was also claimed that he had edited Wikipedia articles about mass murderers. Within hours of the shooting, a We the People petition was started asking the White House to "immediately address the issue of gun control through the introduction of legislation in Congress," and the gun control advocacy group the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence reported that an avalanche of donations in the hours after the shooting caused its website to crash. After LaPierre's press conference, the Brady Campaign asked for donations to support its gun control advocacy and asked NRA members "who believe like we do, that we are better than this" to join its campaign. Lanza was an avid gun collector and was described by those who knew her as a "survivalist" who stockpiled water and food for an oncoming economic crisis. ", "Friends told NBC's Today show on Monday that Lanza was a devoted mother, especially to her son Adam, and that shooting guns was simply a hobby for her. Their oldest son, Ryan Lanza, had moved to New York. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. The bill requires universal background checks (background checks for all firearm purchases), a high-capacity magazine ban banning the sale or purchase of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition like those used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, created the first registry in the United States for dangerous-weapon offenders, and added over 100 types of gun to the state's assault weapons ban. He then went to a community college, and dropped out in the first semester. But Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said Saturday that she had 'never met' Miss Lanza and that she was not in the school database as a staff member. John Moore/Getty Images. Chalk Hill at the time was an unused facility, refurbished after the shooting, with desks and equipment brought in from Sandy Hook Elementary. Three days before the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a 26-year-old man walked into an East Windsor firearms store where Nancy Lanza had . He earned a GED. Both were defeated in the Senate on April 17, 2013. The Wall Street Journalfirst cast doubt on Lanza's connection to the school. Toggle navigation. "Teachers dont know her." Police believe that Lanza extensively researched earlier mass shootings, including the 2011 Norway attacks and the 2006 West Nickel Mines School shooting at a one-room school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. According to the report, Lanza, who was 20 when he died, and his parents "did . Lanza said that family members might have missed signs of the onset of schizophrenia and psychotic behavior during his son's adolescence because they mistakenly attributed his odd behavior and increasing isolation to Asperger syndrome. Kindergarten (1997-1998) Adam Lanza attended kindergarten in the Kingston, New Hampshire school system. Updates? The Washington Post, which says it has done "interviews around the country with friends and family" and has examined the divorce papers that separated Nancy Lanza from Adam's father, Peter Lanza, reports that: Nancy J. Lanza, mother of suspected mass shooter Adam Lanza, was one of the 26 victims of the mass shooting on Friday. My mother, like countless other mothers on the front lines of America's mental health battle, is in a risky position. Although her intention was positive, Richard Novia, a former Newtown school employee who knew Adam, criticized Lanza's actions in the Hartford Courant. Speaking from her home near Chicago, Marsha Lanza, 57, said: 'She was stockpiling food. Corrections? We know, from the SSDI records, that Nancy Lanza died on December 14, 2012. Insider reports that there was only one makeshift memorial for Nancy in Newtown. So why Lanza targeted the school remains unclear. One L. Goh, 43, a Korean national surrendered to police. Then, authorities say, he killed himself. Nancy J. Lanza, mother of suspected mass shooter Adam Lanza, was one of the 26 victims of the mass shooting on Friday. , updated 'He was probably one of the smartest kids I know. "She took it up as a hobby about three years ago, target shooting," Tambascio told the New Haven Register. where did nancy lanza workhorses for sale in georgia under $500. Adam Lanza is etched in in the nation's collective memory as the gunman in a December 2012 shooting spree in Connecticut that left 20 young children, six school staffers and . At one point his anxiety was so intense that she took him to the emergency room at Danbury Hospital. However, early on, they began to notice that their son Adam was demonstrating odd behaviors. In several emails written to Peter, Nancy details that Adam was on a downward spiral. ", Disturbing Details Of Nancy Lanza's 2012 Murder. She is known for The Life of Adam (2015). Lanza attended Sandy Hook Elementary School for four and a half years. Before arriving at Sandy Hook, Adam shot and killed his 52-year-old mother, Nancy Lanza. As he became more withdrawn, Nancy told a friend (per The New Yorker), "I'm worried I'm losing him.". She told friends that her son started getting upset at middle school because of frequent classroom changes during the day. In emails to her friends, Nancy noted that Adam was thriving in this new environment and his new school, Sandy Hook. She collected powerful weapons. Jim Leff, a musician who knew Nancy through a local bar and music spot that she frequented, called her a 'lovely person. by The Frisky October 9, 2014. 'For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Doors to the school were locked at 9:30a.m. each day, after morning arrivals. It concluded that Adam Lanza had acted alone, and that the case was closed. 'She was just like all the rest of us in the neighborhood, just a regular person.'. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 22 April. A former teacher of Lanza's noted that he exhibited antisocial behavior, rarely interacted with other students, and was obsessed with writing "about battles, destruction and war.". His computer contained two videos of gunshot suicides, movies that showed school shootings and two pictures of Lanza pointing guns at his own head. She had legally purchased five firearms, all registered in Connecticut, according to police records. The families appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court. A friend told the FBI (via Fox61), "Nancy was not afraid of Adam, but was afraid FOR him." An opinion piece on USA Todaywrites that Nancy became a scapegoat for the families of Adam's victims. He described the area as a subdivision of well-tended, 15-year-old homes on lots of an acre or more, where many people work at companies like General Electric, Pepsi and IBM. According to our Database, He has no children. She recalled a school meeting in 2008 organized by the gunman's mother to try to save the job of the club's adviser. Other articles where Nancy Lanza is discussed: Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: The murder of Adam Lanza's mother: Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the home that the two shared in Newtown. The divorced mother of two still smooth-skinned and ash blonde at 52 clearly didn't have to work, but was always glad to share talk of her beloved Red Sox, gardening and a growing enthusiasm for target shooting. Disturbing Details Of Nancy Lanza's 2012 Murder. Nancy Lanza, the mother of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza, was in many ways an ideal customer for the U.S. gun industry. So, which is it? He was out in a year. On October 21, building site preparation work began on the new Sandy Hook Elementary School; project updates and progress were posted on a dedicated website. The mother of the Sandy Hook gunman who was shot four times in the face at close range by her son, suffered from multiple sclerosis, it was revealed today. Nancy told a friend that Adam was back at home by himself. Why did you take your revenge out on her? "Those who knew Nancy Lanza recall her as very generous, often giving money to those she met and doing volunteer work.". The townspeople felt conflicted; was she at fault for Sandy Hook, or was she simply another victim? The report noted that "[Lanza] had a familiarity with and access to firearms and ammunition and an obsession with mass murders, in particular the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado." In March 2019 the court decided in a 43 vote to reverse parts of the trial court's rulings and remand the case back to Bridgeport Superior Court for additional hearings. Additional reporting by Frank Koughan for FRONTLINE. He then took her car and drove to the school. She often took her two sons to a local shooting range, where they learned to shoot. Adam would attend public school, take lessons at home, try private school for a couple of months, return to public school and attend Newtown High School, although he left after his sophomore year. Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: The murder of Adam Lanzas mother. 'She said she would often go target shooting with her kids,' Dan Holmes, owner of the landscaping firm Holmes Fine Gardens said. He is not dating anyone. On February 10 2012 a 14-year-old from New Hampshire called Hunter Mack shot himself in the face at Walpole Elementary School cafeteria. Nancy Lanza's sister-in-law Marsha revealed she had traveled to nine cities in three countries because she wanted out of the mansion she shared with her troubled son Adam. At the time of publication of the final report, it had not been possible to recover data from it. Pro-gun groups had rallied outside the Capitol to protest prior to the signing and challenged it in court. In a 2013 interview, Peter Lanza said he suspected his son might have also suffered from undiagnosed schizophrenia in addition to his other conditions. 'He still wears a pocket protector.'. 'We would hang out, and he was a good kid. After the work was complete, Nancy Lanza sent Holmes a text: "That went REALLY well! A few responses suggested that some of the money should be used to purchase and tear down the shooter's family home in order to replace it with a park or wildlife sanctuary. They could be described as both violent and non-violent. Biography states that after the couple split, Peter Lanza moved to Stamford, Connecticut. December 15, 2012, 11:39 AM. 15:57 GMT 18 Dec 2012. Lanza's autopsy showed no tumors or gross deformities in his brain. He returned to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Michael Appleton for The New York . The first person that Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, killed on December 14, 2012, was his own mother. Of the couple of providers that saw him, only one the Yale Child Study Center seemed to appreciate the gravity of (his) presentation, his need for extensive mental health and special education supports, and the critical need for medication to ease his obsessive-compulsive symptoms". On April 14, 2016, a Connecticut court denied the defendants' motion to summarily dismiss the case. Connecticut State Police indicated their concern about misinformation being posted on social media sites and threatened prosecution of anyone involved with such activities. Seven were killed and 10 injured at a shooting at Oikos University, in Oakland, California on 2 April. Shortly after her move from New Hampshire to Newtown in 1998, Nancy Lanza had good news about her troubled son. According to The New Yorker, Adam had speech problems and was adverse to physical touch. He began at Newtown Middle School in 2004, but according to his mother was "wracked by anxiety". 5. The results of the toxicology report were published in October 2013, and stated that no alcohol or drugs were found in his system. She was shot four times with a .22-calibre rifle. Within 24 hours of her return, Adam would snap, shooting his mother to death Continue reading Nancy Lanza Knew Something Was Wrong With Son Adam Week Of Newtown Shooting Rather, a block reading camera shy is the entire imprint he left. He made it a source of pride,' Hanoman said. Increasing numbers of security guards are in place at U.S. public schools as a result of gun crime with metal detectors also in use across the country. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The gun used to kill her, and those used in the attack on the school, may all have been registered to Nancy Lanza. In January 2015 Bushmaster's attorneys petitioned to have the suit moved to federal court because, although the shooting took place in Connecticut, it is located in North Carolina. [6] According to one report, Nancy Lanza "switched doctors, medications, and schools, and nothing improved Adam's condition enough." A new report from a yearlong study by the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate finds that Adam Lanza's mental health issues went untreated for years leading up to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The judge ruled the complaint was not valid per federal and Connecticut laws. She cares for a mentally ill child. Almost 94 per cent of U.S. elementary schools lock their doors during the school day to restrict access to campuses. As the once-peaceful New England town continues today to bury the victims of Friday's massacre, it was revealed the bodies of Nancy and Adam Lanza are not being released by the medical examiner for another week. Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High School in 2009, said Adam Lanza was generally a happy person but that he hadn't seen him in a few years. The University of Connecticut created a scholarship for the surviving children of the shootings. An unidentified person told an agent that Adam Lanza's mother, Nancy Lanza, was concerned about him a month before the shooting because he had become a "shut in" who hadn't gone anywhere in three . The intense anxiety Lanza experienced at the time suggests his autism was exacerbated by the hormonal shifts of adolescence. Nancy Lanza was born on September 6, 1960 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. But Adam, 6, then diagnosed with a condition that made it difficult for him to manage and respond to sights, touch and smell, eventually struggled in the first grade at his new school Sandy Hook Elementary. Sandeep Kapur, who lives two doors down from the Lanza family in Newtown, said he did not know them and was unaware of any disturbances at the Lanza house in the three years that he and his family have been in the neighborhood. Biography ID: 33983578 . Dr. Caroline Soames-Watkins's star has been on the rise. 480 ratings103 reviews. What emerges in this exploration of a still unfolding story is a portrait of a mother, apparently devoted but perhaps misguided, struggling to find her son a place in society, and a boy, exceptionally smart in some areas, profoundly deficient in others, who never found a place in the world. In 2010,Adam chose to not have a relationship with his father (per PBS). Police found numerous video games in the basement of Adam Lanza's home, which was used as a gaming area. Federal judge Alfred Covello ruled in January 2014, to uphold the law. A Mother, a Gun Enthusiast and the First Victim. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. She was, after all, the one who bought guns and took Adam Lanza to the shooting range (via NPR). "But while Lanza spoke proudly about her sons and brought them in for breakfast when they were younger, friends say she held one card very close: home life, especially its trials and setbacks, was off limits. "Nancy Lanza was the one who, if she heard you were short on cash, regularly offered to pick up the tab at My Place. Investigators evaluated Lanza's body, looking for evidence of drugs or medication through toxicology tests. He called it a "serious mistake" and noted that "if you have a child in the home with mental disorders, or learning disabilities, to have involved him with guns in the first place would be bad." This was likely because the perpetrator was carrying his brother's identification, Ryan told The Jersey Journal. The Telegraph. At 30 years old, Nancy Lanza height not available right now. The $57 million proposed project was sent to the Newtown Board of Education for approval, to be followed by a public ballot. We need immediate action.'. Home U.K. 1 in a murderous rampage carried out by her troubled son, Adam, who reportedly suffered from severe behavioral disorders. She attended the University of New Hampshire and worked in the New Accounts Division of John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston until 1992. On October 16, 2019, a jury awarded Leonard Pozner $450,000 for defamation by James Fetzer, who had co-written the book Nobody Died at Sandy Hook. It wasnt her main hobby. Adam is in the second row, the second from the left. 'He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths,' she said. Leslie Veliz 7/17/2022. After the two shifted to Newtown, Connecticut, their marriage slowly started . Her family was well-off, her mother was a school nurse while her brother became a police officer. Yet many news reports didn't . Before he forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday and began a rampage that would leave 20 children and six adults dead, police say, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother at their home in Newtown, Conn. The Chalk Hill school was temporarily renamed "Sandy Hook". On October 14, 2016, the defendants' motion to dismiss the lawsuit was granted. 13:18 - 15 Dec 2012. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. On Tuesday at 10 p.m. (check local listings) FRONTLINE will premiere a two-part episode that will explore answers to critical questions sparked by the tragedy: Who was Adam Lanza, and what was the nature of his relationship with his mother? On March 28, 2013, court documents released from the investigation showed that the school shooting had occurred in the space of less than five minutes with 156 shots fired. He graduated high school in 2010, but was not pictured in the school yearbook. Adam Lanza's father had divorced Nancy because of irreconcilable differences, and now lives in Stamford, Connecticut with his new wife Shelley. He spent more time alone at home. 3 Photos. FRONTLINEs Raising Adam Lanza and Newtown Divided are part of PBSs After Newtown initiative, a series of documentaries, news reports and public affairs programs that provide thought-provoking context to the national conversation about gun violence in America. He had killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, in her bed before heading to the school. Lanza removed the hard drive from his computer and damaged it prior to the shooting, creating a challenge for investigators to recover data. The victim's sister, Jillian, stated that fake social media accounts existed using her sister's name to promote conspiracy theories about the shooting. Her interest in guns, according to friend Mark Tambascio, grew in recent years. She did not have a job but, in 2012, according to divorce records on file at Superior Court, received $289,800 in . For Lanza family, son Adams difficulties dominated, Nancy Lanza, 52, was planning to uproot her life and move with her son when he decided on a college in either Seattle or the Carolinas, Ms Lanza had 'total authority' over son's upbringing following 2009 divorce from boy's father Peter, She was killed by her son Adam Lanza as she lay in her bedroom in her pajamas on Friday morning, Ex-husband will likely take care of Nancy's funeral, The bodies of she and Adam Lanza will not be released for another week. Lanza's father has said that he does not believe Nancy feared Adam. The Stanford Advocate reported the same thing. Although Nancy tried to minimize her son's problems to others, Peter has said that he believes she was too proud to ask for help. One question worth asking is whether the father had any idea that Nancy kept guns in the house and had taken Adam shooting. Remington asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review the state court ruling, but in November 2019 the Supreme Court denied to hear the appeal, allowing the families' suit to proceed. Within minutes, he had shot and killed 26 people. On May 23, 2018, six more families sued Jones for his claims. On January 16, 2013, Obama signed 23 executive orders and proposed 12 congressional actions regarding gun control. In February 2015, the family of one of the victims, Victoria Soto, applied for trademark protection for her name. Nancy Lanza wanted to test her son Adam's ability to live on his own and manage his Asperger's Syndrome, so the Connecticut mother turned control of the house to her 20-year-old son while she went out of town for a day. His parents divorced. NEWTOWN, Conn. When Nancy and Peter Lanza divorced three years ago, Nancy Lanza got more than $200,000 a year in alimony and primary custody of the teenage son who last week committed one of . Between 2010 and 2012, she purchased four guns. Prior to this, Jones said that the Sandy Hook shooting was "completely fake" and a "giant hoax" perpetrated by opponents of the Second Amendment. In 2008 and 2009, he also attended some classes at Western Connecticut State University. NBC News' Pete Williams reported Lanza was in an altercation recently with three school officials, but it wasn't known over what. In the weeks after the Newtown massacre, The Courant, in partnership with the PBS investigative news program FRONTLINE, contacted family members and friends on both Nancy Lanzas and Peter Lanzas side. The doors were locked and officers forced their way in and discovered Nancy deceased in the second . Find out in the 2015 documentary Outbreak, newly available to stream on FRONTLINEs YouTube channel. 'The neighborhood's great. Hayley Peterson, 'Petrified' Sandy Hook nurse hid in closet for four hours listening to screams and gunshots, Did violent video game Call of Duty spark gun-crazed loner's killing spree? In December, it was announced that the town of Newtown will acquire the property and home of Nancy Lanza at no cost. The divorce file said the marriage 'has broken down irretrievably and there is no possibility of getting back together'. Years before Adam Lanza shot up Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, his mother, Nancy, had enrolled him there in the hopes that the boy would pull out of his shell . Nancy H Lanza Nancy Lanza (1935 - 1998) Jump to: Biography Memories . She loved the arts, culture. We talked about prepping a lot. Feb. 20, 2013 12 AM PT. Students and teachers who knew him in high school described Lanza as "intelligent but nervous and fidgety". Teachers again stopped a shooter on September 7 when a 14-year-old was tackled to the floor after shooting at the ceiling at Normal Community High School, Illinois. He did not have a criminal record. The perpetrator was Adam Peter Lanza (April 22, 1992 December 14, 2012), who lived with his mother, Nancy Lanza, in Sandy Hook, 5 miles (8km) from the elementary school. He would commute to the city for his job as vice president of General Electric. He went to college at 16 and earned As and Bs but it didnt last. Per The Washington Post, she was raised in New Hampshire and had a picturesque childhood. Peter made $445,000 a year and agreed to pay $240,000 a year in alimony and child support, according to court records. Family member Marsha Lanza told The Washington Post, "She was involved. Those who knew Nancy Lanza have described her as a loving mother and an unselfish person (via NPR). Demolition began on October 25 and was completed in December 2013 at a cost of nearly US$1.4 million. President Obama said "And then when Dawn Hochsprung, and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Rousseau, Rachel D'Avino, Anne Marie Murphy -- when they showed up for work at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14th of last year, they expected a day like any other -- doing what was right for their kids; spent a chilly morning readying classrooms and welcoming young students -- they had no idea that evil was about to strike. In OBSERVER, scientist Robert Lanza, one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, is joined by Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Nancy Kress to confront the space between biology and consciousness. He was taken out of high school and home-schooled by his mother and father. She was shot four times with a .22-calibre rifle. He said, "Knowing my brother, hell take care of it, because thats the right thing to do".'. Classmate Tim Arnone, 20, who graduated with Lanza in 2010, told Reuters that the boy was 'driven hard' to succeed academically by his parents, particularly his mother. Six school employees were also killed. Police said he was not considered a suspect, and he was not taken into custody. The report from the Office of the Child Advocate stated: "In the course of Lanza's entire life, minimal mental health evaluation and treatment (in relation to his apparent need) was obtained. He explained, "The reason he shot Nancy four times was one for each of us: one for Nancy; one for him; one for Ryan; one for me.". Nancy Lanza, the 52-year old mother of the gunman who took 26 lives in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, is being portrayed as a potential source of the issues plaguing her son. Some are doctors, and his next-door neighbor is a bank CEO, said Kapur, a project manager at an information technology firm. The new mom continued to work, dropping off her son at day care before taking the ride to Boston each day. On December 4, 2013, seven 911 calls relating to the shooting were made public. A man several houses down, who said he was friends with the couple, declined to give his name, saying only that they are 'great people' and 'my heart bleeds for them'. The 15-year-old allegedly opened fire before being rushed by teachers. Nancy Lanzas income source is mostly from being a successful . NEWTOWN, Conn. Nancy Lanza loved guns, and often took her sons to one of the shooting ranges here in the suburbs northeast of New York City .