Detectives 'exploring' whether Sandy Hook shooter was emulating video games, shooting range during massacre

Detectives investigating the Sandy Hook massacre are "exploring whether Adam Lanza might have been emulating the shooting range or a video-game scenario," law enforcement officials tell the Hartford Courant.

The in-depth newspaper investigation into Adam Lanza also found that the 20-year-old owned a large quantity of violent video games and was raised from a young age with knowledge of firearm shooting.

The story, created in tandem with PBS Frontline, describes a child that struggled to deal with a sensory integration disorder and Asperger's syndrome and who had trouble fitting in. Lanza's mother, according to the story, moved him from school to school, even changing towns in search of a good fit for the boy. He found a bit of that at Newtown High School in 2006, according to the article.

Newtown schools security chief Richard Novia said that by high school, Lanza "would master [technical tasks] very quickly" but remain very quiet. He was part of a tech club that would host capture the flag games and video game marathons, and served as a kind of support group for Lanza. His mother, Nancy Lancy, pulled her son from school in 2008, which severed Lanza's access to his peer support, school psychologist and administrators that were dedicated to helping him, according to the story.

Lanza's mother was a firearms enthusiast, and began taking her son with her to target and shooting ranges at an early age. Sources in law enforcement told the Courant she purchased four guns between 2010 and 2012, and told a friend she "bonded" over the activity with her sons, Adam and Ryan.

Exposure to firearms and violent video games were an unhealthy combination for Lanza, Novia believes.

According to the Courant, police searching Lanza's home after the shootings discovered "thousands of dollars worth" of violent video games in the basement. Detectives investigating the shooting are trying to determine if Lanza might have been mimicking a video game or a shooting range. Sources in local law enforcement said they are scrutinizing the time Lanza spent playing video games in this room.

The Courant also reports that prior to murdering his mother, Lanza destroyed his computer's hard drive, eliminating any evidence of him having played violent PC games.

Family friend John Bergquist said Adam Lanza slept in the basement during major renovations to the home in 2011 while his mother slept in a local hotel. She would go back to the house during the day to be with her son during construction, but there were periods where she would leave him alone for days at a time.