Medical examiner seeks genetic clues to Adam Lanza's motives
HARTFORD, Conn. Connecticut's chief medical examiner says he's seeking genetic clues to help explain why a shooter killed 20 children and six adults in a Newtown elementary school.
Dr. H. Wayne Carver II tells The Hartford Courant that he wants to know if there is any identifiable disease associated with the behavior of the shooter, Adam Lanza. He is working with the University of Connecticut department of genetics.
Family friends Mark and Louise Tambascio told CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley on last Sunday's 60 Minutes that Adam's mother, Nancy Lanza, had told them that her son suffered from Asperger's syndrome, and it was a full-time obligation to take care of him.
Paula Levy, a mediator who worked with Lanza's parents during their divorce, also said Lanza was diagnosed with the autism spectrum disorder.
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Carver however says Asperger's is not associated with violent behavior, a point many experts and advocates have been raising in light of the reports of Lanza's condition. He says he's not considering Asperger's as a reason for Lanza's rampage on Friday.
Asperger's "is simply not on the menu, in terms of what is wrong with this kid," he told the paper.
Carver is awaiting toxicology testing results for Lanza and other information.
Lanza fatally shot himself as first responders approached the school Friday morning.
A total of 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S history.