Adam Lanza's Hard Drive: Connecticut School Shooting Gunman Destroys Computer Before Massacre, History of Playing Violent Video Games

On Friday, December 14 at approximately 9:40 a.m., 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut - ultimately killing 20 young students (ages 6-7) and six faculty members. Before the tragic and devastating massacre occurred, Lanza destroyed his personal computer and hard drive kept at the suburban home he shared with his mother, 52-year-old Nancy Lanza (Adam's first victim). After investigators spent several days trying to extract data from the smashed hard drive, little information has been able to be recovered. All that is really known is that Lanza was an avid video gamer - especially involving games focused on violent and deadly plots.

One law enforcement officer tells the Daily Beast about the destroyed computer - "It was pretty bad. If he destroyed the computer, that means there are things on there that would concern him. It is going to be a while before they can decipher the information."

Before investigators attempted to recover data on the smashed hard drive, one source confirmed that it looked like the computer "appeared to have been badly damaged with a hammer or screwdriver." Another investigator suggested a hypothesis on Monday (Dec. 17) as to why Lanza would do such a thing - "He was eliminating [investigators'] ability to figure out what websites he had gone to or who he might have been communicating with."

According to reports, the only thing known about Lanza's computer use is that he was an avid gamer, and he enjoyed playing violent video games... a lot. One game he was a big fan of used life-like characters to participate in bloody battle scenes. But it's hard to say if such violent games could have actually drove Lanza to commit such a tragic crime. According to Yahoo! News, a recent ten country study showed that there's little correlation between violent video games and gun murders (although there are always exceptions to the trend).

FBI investigator Robert Paquette recently told the New York Post, "Many of these games are very, very violent. I can't help but believe these can affect the minds of someone unbalanced."

Details surrounding the gunman and his motives still remain hazy... did it have anything to do with Adam's relationship with his mother, an avid shooting range enthusiast and gun aficionado? The weapons Adam used to commit the devastating massacre were all guns registered in his mother's name. Or did it have to do with mental illness? Lanza's parents had previously told friends and family that Adam had Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism (it remains unclear if he was ever officially diagnosed).

No matter what the case, 27 innocent lives are now gone at the hands of a troubled and deadly shooter (who took his own life with a gunshot following the massacre). What truly matters now are the victims and the entire Newtown, CT community suffering from the blows of such a shocking and heartbreaking event. Some of the victims who survived the shootings may be able to provide some clues into the deadly crime, but as Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance states, "It's a very, very tender, tender issue."

Many individuals believe that prompt action must now be taken to help prevent such tragic and violent actions happening  ever again. President Barack Obama recently announced in a statement - "We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction."

Rest In Peace:

Mary Sherlach, 56; Nancy Lanza, 52; Anne Marie Murphy, 52; Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47 (principal); Lauren Rousseau, 30; Rachel Davino, 29; Victoria Soto, 27; Daniel Barden, 7; Josephine Gay, 7; Chase Kowalski, 7; Grace McDonnell, 7; Charlotte Bacon, 6; Emilie Parker, 6; Olivia Engel, 6; Ana Marquez-Greene, 6; Dylan Hockley, 6; Madeleine Hsu, 6; Catherine Hubbard, 6; Jesse Lewis, 6; James Mattioli, 6; Jack Pinto, 6; Noah Pozner, 6; Caroline Previdi, 6; Jessica Rekos, 6; Avielle Richman, 6; Benjamin Wheeler, 6; Allison Wyatt, 6.

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