Jacob Sullum on Misconceptions About the Sandy Hook Massacre
Last December, less than a week after Adam Lanza murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the New York Post described his "eerie lair of violent video games," where he "obliterated virtual victims…until the virtual became a reality." The Post reported that the troubled 20-year-old "was enthralled by blood-splattering, shoot-'em-up electronic games."
The official report on the massacre, released this week by State's Attorney Steven Sedensky, paints a more complicated picture. Senior Editor Jacob Sullum says the report casts doubt on the significance of Lanza's gaming habits as well as several other theories about why he did what he did or how he could have been stopped.