Newtown gunman`s dad says wishes son was never born

USPA News - The father of Adam Lanza, who more than a year ago killed 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, said in an interview published on Monday that he wished his son was never born. Peter Lanza said Adam, 20, would have killed him too if he had been given the opportunity.

"With hindsight, I know Adam would have killed me in a heartbeat if he`s had the chance," Lanza told the New Yorker Magazine. The interview, the father`s first, will appear in the March 17 issue. Peter Lanza told the New Yorker that he wished his son, Adam, had never been born and that there could be no remembering who he was, outside of who he became. "That didn`t come right away," he said "That`s not a natural thing, when you`re thinking about your kid. But, God, there`s no question. There can only be one conclusion, when you finally get there." He said he thought Adam was "a normal, weird little kid" but by the time he reached middle school "it was clear something was wrong." According to Peter Lanza, his son was evaluated by many mental health professionals but none detected violent tendencies in his personality. Adam was socially awkward, anxious, unable to concentrate, and troubled with insomnia. Peter and Nancy Lanza divorced in 2009 and Peter had not seen his son for more than two years when Adam walked into the elementary school in Newtown in December 2012 and opened fire, Peter Lanza told the New Yorker. He also said his ex-wife did not detect the potential for violence either. Peter Lanza has offered to meet victims of the shooting, though only two families have agreed thus far. "It`s gut-wrenching," he said. "A victim`s family member told me that they forgave Adam after we spent three hours talking. I didn`t even know how to respond." The December 14, 2012, massacre happened at around 9:30 a.m. local time when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, a town about 7 miles (11 kilometers) east of Danbury in Connecticut, before killing himself. His violence at the school lasted only about five minutes but claimed the lives of six adults and 20 children. Authorities say Adam fatally shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, with a rifle as she slept in her bed before the fatal elementary school shooting. In the hours and days after the shooting, investigators found a large number of firearms and other weapons inside the Newtown residence where Lanza lived with his mother, who had legally purchased many of the weapons and was caring for her troubled son. Additionally found inside the house were photos of a dead human wrapped in plastic and a New York Times article covering the February 2008 shooting at Northern Illinois University that resulted in the deaths of six people. Also found were photocopied 1891 newspaper articles pertaining to the shooting of school children and a book relating to the mass shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania in October 2006. Electronic evidence included a 5-second video dramatization depicting children being shot, a document describing the prerequisites for a mass murder, a spreadsheet listing mass murders by name and information about the incident, and a large amount of materials relating to the Columbine massacre. It led investigators to conclude that Lanza was obsessed with the events at Columbine. The Columbine massacre happened in April 1999 when 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold went on a killing spree at Columbine High School in Colorado, killing 12 students and one teacher before committing suicide. It was the deadliest high school massacre in U.S. history, prompting changes in school security across the United States.