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Ex-babysitter says Newtown, Conn. school shooter Adam Lanza's mother warned: Don't turn your back
HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. A man who says he once babysat for Newtown, Conn., gunman Adam Lanza says he recalls Lanza's mother warning him never to turn his back on the boy - not even to go to the bathroom.
Ryan Kraft now lives in Hermosa Beach, in Southern California.
But, he tells CBS station KCBS in Los Angeles, he was once a student at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and babysat for Lanza when Lanza was about 9 or 10 and Kraft was 14 or 15.
Piecing together Adam Lanza
Police say Lanza, 20, went on a rampage in the school Friday, killing 20 six- and seven-year-olds and six adults before taking his own life. Lanza also shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, to death in the nearby home they shared before heading to the school, authorities say.
Kraft tells KCBS when he first heard about the shooting and that Lanza was involved, "I just couldn't think for a little while. I was shaking."
He says he recalls Nancy Lanza cautioning him never to turn his back on Adam -- "to keep an eye on him at all times ... to never turn my back, or even to go to the bathroom or anything like that."
Kraft says he remembers Lanza as quiet, very intelligent and introverted, noting, "Whenever we were doing something, whether it was building Legos, or playing video games, he was really focused on it. It was like he was in his own world."
Kraft is still having trouble believing the kid he babysat could have been involved in such unspeakable horror. "I'm just numb to it, I haven't really processed the fact that this happened right where I used to be, and that, 15 years ago, it could have been me."
Vigils for Conn. school shooting victims
Nancy Lanza, says Kraft, was very involved in her children's lives and loved them very much.
He says that, rather than feeling helpless, he decided to start a fundraiser to help the children of Newton, especially the ones who will be dealing with post traumatic stress disorder.
Kraft, who moved to California after college, also wants the money to go to helping families pay funeral expenses and to help establish a scholarship fund for survivors.
Kraft's fundraising page took in more than $53,000 in one day.
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But then I'm scarred because a stranger tried to get my kid in the toy aisle years and years ago
What's weird is I kept asking myself, "why did I let her go over there - why I am a bad parent...." I couldn't quit asking myself that - but the guy is still in jail - I found out he tried to abduct 3 other kids - I was number four and the last -
We live in a world where boundaries are being erased - the boundaries are gone - I feel like personally, we are pushing God on the outer fringes of the boundaries and telling him we don't need his help.
People in everyday situations don't see a boundary line - it's not there for them - it's gone -
What can we really do about that? What gun laws and restrictions can re-establish the boundaries in our society?
But being 50 years old - I definitely see a more hostile world around my kids and I am always thinking and praying to God for a boundary line to be drawn around them - to please God not let those boundary lines to get erased.
Until all the details are released, or what actually is available to the public, no one should assume anything.
We assume his mother taught him how to shoot a gun or guns. We assume she either did not have them secure or he found access to them, if they were secure. No matter how he gained access, he did. I am so sorry for the Newtown Victims families and the survivors that were witness to it all. What a tragedy.
I just do not understand why all of the readers who more than likely do not know one another, are fighting among each other. Agree to disagree. We will soon know some of the details, as they are released to the public. We will still not know all the details. While we wait, let us pay respect to the victims families and survivors of Sandy Hook School. As far as gun control, gun bans, politics, mental illness, let us get all the facts then comment. The NRA remained silent for days waiting on additional information. Could we the public at least keep our comments on the subject and be decent to each other or just keep quiet? Maybe I am wrong, but I believe there are others out there that are tired of the trash talk between each other and the wrong statistics being quoted. When making comments keep them to the subject or post your comments on the appropriate news page. It is my opinion we are getting way off subject, as this page was about a babysitter who at the time was just a teen. Maybe it is just me. I am gone. By the way, I have only posted one comment to a news page and it has been about the Sandy Hook Shootings. So what do I know?
They want (& I mean WANT WANT WANT!!!) another civil war.
That is best reason to ban assault weapons, why should we allow the rebels to arm themselves.
You must not have ever lived in the South. They are more dependent on the Federal Government than any other of the States. There would be no Civil War. There would be a Revolution. Get it right. A Civil War would imply that some of us are actually happy with the current state of the Nation. I live in Oregon, and trust me the unrest is not limited to the South. And either is the Gun Craze. The reason that the 2nd amendment exists is to get rid of the current Government if they start to become exactly what we fought 240 years ago to get away from.. As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed..
He was not referring to a State. He was referring to a state of tyranny... That is why we should be armed.
And these people who are all about taking your Guns are BTW are themselves protected by armed body guards at all times. So they have little to lose..Just Sayin..
My son is 11 years old and I still have to keep a close watch on him, as you said, they will walk out the door and you don't know it or harm themselves. We are going through a situation right now where he is hitting himself or banging his head on the wall when he gets upset.
Ignorant people should keep there mouth shut. How many parents are going to tell their children to not get around that kid cause he is autistic.
America needs to be educated on Autism and now especially about Aspbergers so these children do not get discriminated against cause of people, like the guy on 60 minutes, who don't know about autism.
Thank you for saying something. My heart goes out to those who are affected by this situation. It even affected my son.
Let the Investigator's do thier jobs.
Hmmm..
Why not just let the "investigators" do their job themselves?