SALON

Saturday, Dec 15, 2012 4:30 AM UTC

Brother of Conn. gunman wrongly cited as shooter

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Brother of Conn. gunman wrongly cited as shooterIn this frame grab provided by WCBS in New York, Ryan Lanza, the 24-year-old brother of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza, is escorted by police into a cruiser in Hoboken, N.J., Friday.(Credit: AP/WCBS-TV)

Not long after Friday’s shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school, media outlets began reporting the gunman’s identity as 24-year-old Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, N.J.

His name and image quickly spread worldwide as the perpetrator of the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting. Facebook and Twitter lit up as people vented their fury at the man they believed was responsible.

In reality, Ryan Lanza was at work in New York City when the gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., some 60 miles away, and a law enforcement official later identified his 20-year-old brother, Adam Lanza, as the culprit.

Ryan Lanza was interviewed by investigators but is not believed to have any connection to the killings. He told officials he’d had no contact with his brother since 2010.

The Associated Press, relying on a law enforcement official who turned out to be mistaken, initially reported Ryan Lanza was the shooter. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak on the record about the developing investigation. Many other media outlets also reported the same, also citing law enforcement officials.

Once he realized he’d been identified as the perpetrator, Lanza evidently whipped out his mobile device and began posting a quick succession of denials on Facebook, according to screen grabs purportedly taken from his Facebook page and posted online.

“IT WASN’T ME I WAS AT WORK IT WASN’T ME,” said one message. Then, two minutes later: “I’m on the bus home now it wasn’t me.” Finally, three minutes after that, he posted an obscenity and repeated, “it wasn’t me,” the screen grabs showed.

A friend of Lanza’s, former Jersey Journal newspaper staff writer Brett Wilshe, told the AP he “got really scared” when he began hearing the media reports about Ryan Lanza, and sent him a message on Facebook asking what was going on and if he was OK.

Lanza’s reply, according to Wilshe, was something like: “It was my brother. I think my mother is dead. Oh my God.”

Wilshe said he met Ryan Lanza through mutual friends and hung out with him about once a month.

“I really enjoy his company because he’s a great guy,” Wilshe said. He said Lanza never mentioned his brother, though “I didn’t know him well enough to have gotten to know his family.”

Katie Colaneri, 24, a radio reporter from Hoboken, said she met Ryan Lanza about a year and a half ago through mutual friends, and described him as “the nicest guy.” She last saw him at a community meeting after Superstorm Sandy, and they spoke of how he had been without power for several days.

When she heard his name, she said, it left her in “absolute shock, and I could not fathom what I was hearing.”

___

Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.

By Michael Rubinkam

More By Michael Rubinkam.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations