Could the Newtown - Sandy Hook School Massacre Been Avoided?

[N'Zinga Shani]

The Office-of-the-Child-Advocate Makes Its Report, Nov. 21, 2014.

Agency Report: Schools Helped Lanza's Mom 'Appease' Him”

"The state Agency Report also provocatively asks whether a family that was not white or as affluent as the Lanzas would have been given the same leeway to manage treatment for their troubled child."  In keeping with OneWorld's motto that 'It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness' going forward, what can we learn from studying this report that will help to prevent similar tragedies in the future?

How Does CT Deal with Mental Health & Disability Issues In Young People? Did race and socioeconomic class play a role in how Lanza was treated? According to a report released 11/21/14: "Agency: Schools helped Lanza's mom 'appease' him”  By PAT EATON-ROBB and MICHAEL MELIA 4 hours ago (Nov. 21, 2014)

“HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The school system unwittingly enabled Adam Lanza's mother to "accommodate and appease" him as he became more withdrawn socially, according to a state report issued Friday on the man who carried out the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The Office of the Child Advocate report identified missed opportunities to provide more appropriate treatment for Lanza, whose social isolation and obsession with mass killings have been detailed in police reports that concluded the motive for the shootings may never be known.

A thread running through the 114-page report, which refers to Lanza as "AL," is the effort on the part of his parents to accommodate his disabilities, rather than adhering to specialists' recommendations for extensive special education support.

"Both AL's mother and his educational team shared a goal of managing and accommodating, rather than securing treatment for, AL's disabilities, and likely this approach was fueled by a lack of critical information and guidance," the report said.

In the three months before the massacre, Lanza had not left his room in his mother's spacious colonial-style house, where he lived surrounded by an arsenal of weapons and spent long hours playing violent video games. His parents were divorced, and Lanza had not seen his father for two years. The report said Lanza's severe and deteriorating mental health problems, combined with a preoccupation with violence and access to deadly weapons, proved a recipe for mass murder."

"The report also provocatively asks whether a family that was not white or as affluent as the Lanzas would have been given the same leeway to manage treatment for their troubled child."

"A Connecticut judge last year ordered Newtown school officials to give Lanza's records the Office of Child Advocate for its investigation.

Child Advocate Sarah H. Eagan already has met with the families of the victims and Newtown school officials to discuss the findings.”

In an interview with CBS news recently, Adam Lanza’s father, Peter Lanza said his son was pure evil and he wishes that he had not been born. He also said Adam shot his mother four times; one shot was for each member of the family.  He believes Adam would have killed him "in a minute." See short video and complete article at the link below.

 http://news.yahoo.com/newtown-shooters-history-reviewed-report-0645...

CNN Update - Nov. 23, 2014

"The 114-page report released by the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate profiled the developmental and educational history of Lanza, the young man who carried out the mass killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. The report noted "missed opportunities" by Lanza's mother, the school district, and multiple health care providers. It identified "warning signs, red flags, or other lessons that could be learned from a review of [Lanza's] life."

The report was dedicated to the 20 first-graders who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Six educators and the shooter's mother were also killed in the tragedy that shook the nation to its core and spurred a national debate over gun violence and mental health. Report: Lanza preoccupied with violence

Read the report (PDF)

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/21/justice/newtown-shooter-adam-lanza-re...