I’ve heard Nancy Lanza used as a poster child for safe storage by gun control advocates, thinking it was a bit premature to presume the guns were not stored in a safe manner. Now we seem to have a much better picture:
The guns used in the shootings were apparently all purchased by the shooter’s mother. There is currently no indication that the shooter attempted to purchase the guns and was denied. The gun locker at 36 Yogananda St. was open when the police arrived. It was unlocked and there was no indication that it had been broken into.
So we at least know she had a safe, and that it was unlocked when the police arrived. It’s not clear from reading the search warrants where the safe was in the house. Did he shoot her to get the key? If so, is there any “safe storage” law that would help?
“It’s not clear from reading the search warrants where the safe was in the house.”
I heard it reported today that it was in his bedroom. I can’t vouch for the truth of that.
In the bedroom believed to be Adam Lanza’s, police found:
Photo of a dead boy
Gun safe
Playstation
XBox 360
Microsoft XBox
Video games
Cell phones
Hard drives
Computers
Thumb drives
Cassettes and CDs
Now you can vouch for it.
From here: http://fairfield.patch.com/articles/court-documents-detail-evidence-in-sandy-hook-school-shooting-ec4a5cdd
I read the warrants. I’m not seeing where they said those items were in his room.
Sebastian,
Evening now…I have had the time to properly peruse the warrants myself. The reference I see for the smashed computer hard drive, a gaming console and a gun safe are here:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/teg/tsg/release/sites/default/files/imagecache/750×970/documents/4adamlanzawarrant4.jpg
However, my brain is swimming right now. So much info and so many reports to wade through. I see multiple reports with conflicting information already. Yikes.
No pron?
Or do guys just depend on their computers and internet connections these days?
Yes.
On The Smoking Gun they redacted where the safe was.
As of one hour ago, CNN was reporting the gun safe was in Adam’s room.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/28/us/connecticut-shooting-documents
I checked the Smoking Gun site. I didn’t find what you mentioned.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/lanza-search-warrants?page=7
I may be confused or there are multiple safes. I do not understand the redaction on this page concerning the safe. Heck, I had a safe at that age for birth certificates and SS cards, etc.
Whether it was or wasn’t in his room isn’t relevant. You can secure things from small children, but when someone is effectively an adult, given enough time they’ll get in.
The order may have changed from “take guns, kill mom” to “kill mom, take guns” but the end result would have been the same…
Yeah. Even if she had a high-grade gun safe and the key off-site, it wouldn’t stop someone determined to commit mass murder.
Normal gun safes are there to stop more-or-less casual thieves.
An ordinary casual-thief-stopping gun safe won’t stop a $20 angle grinder but it will stop Joe Breakin, because he doesn’t want to make any 100 decibel noises for 15 or 20 minutes, or carry a farkin’ plasma cutter around on a dolly.
Thus it won’t stop Adam Lanza after killing his mother.
We hear about “safe storage†and “smart guns†a lot in regards to Newtown, but the guy was legally an adult, and a member of the household, making those requirements moot in this case. Even under their draconian provisions she would have every right to grant him access to the safe, or have him on the approved (and hypothetical) biometric roster. As usual, it would come down to family (not government) intervention to prevent these types of incidents.
“it would come down to family (not government) intervention to prevent these types of incidents.”
That is remarkably effective in most cases. In my extended family are people for whom we have an understanding that they are not to be given access to any “tools,” they understand that, and to date there have been no close calls.
My family didn’t have interventions. The guys would just take you outside and whip yer a$$.