The gunman, Adam Lanza, began his rampage Dec. 14, 2012, by killing Nancy Lanza inside their Newtown home before gunning down 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School and then killing himself.
A draft of the dedication for the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission’s report refers to 26 victims, but Commissioner Harold Schwartz asked at a hearing Friday why Nancy Lanza should not also be considered a victim, bringing the count to 27. Although the commission ultimately agreed to leave her name out, Schwartz suggested mentioning her at least in a footnote.
“I’m not certain it is morally right to not acknowledge her as a victim,” said Schwartz, a psychiatry professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
The role of Nancy Lanza, who often took her son to shooting ranges and bought the rifle he would use in the school massacre, has been a vexing question in Newtown. While friends have said she did her best raising a troubled son, a report by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate concluded she contributed to his isolation as she kept him at home, surrounded by an arsenal of firearms, as he whiled away hours playing violent video games.
The advisory commission, created by Gov. Dannel Malloy in the wake of the shooting, plans to issue its report in February with dozens of policy recommendations in areas including law enforcement and emergency response, school design, and mental health and wellness.