<p>A report on the December 2012 "massacre of the innocents" at a US elementary school says that the gunman had an obsession with mass murders but failed to find his motive for the crime.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In the years leading up to the shooting at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School, gunman Adam Lanza went from a merely shy pre-teen to a mentally ill recluse obsessed with school shootings, according to the report released Monday.<br /><br />The report by Connecticut State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky said Lanza, 20, was obsessed in particular with the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado.<br /><br />Lanza shot his mother inside their home before driving to his former elementary school, where he fired off 154 shots with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle within five minutes killing 20 children and six adults. He then killed himself with a handgun as police arrived.<br /><br />According to the report, authorities seized numerous items from Lanza's Newtown home, including a spreadsheet listing mass murders by name and information about the incident.<br /><br />Also found were computer bookmarks pertaining to firearms, military, politics, mass murder, video games, music, books and ammunition; two videos showing suicide by gunshot; and a five-second dramatised video depicting children being shot.<br /><br />Sedensky said there is also no clear indication why he chose Sandy Hook as the target for his rampage other than the fact that it was close to his home.<br /><br />Lanza had significant mental health issues that affected his ability to live a normal life and interact with others but did not affect his mental state for the crimes, he said.<br /><br />"The obvious question that remains is: 'Why did the shooter murder twenty-seven people, including twenty children?' Unfortunately, that question may never be answered conclusively," the report said.<br /><br />Sedensky said police went into the school within minutes of the first shots being fired and that along with the actions of teachers inside saved many children's lives.<br /><br />Since the shooting grabbed national headlines, no major gun control legislation has passed Congress despite a major push by the Obama administration.<br /><br />Federal efforts to establish background checks for firearm purchases that could limit access for the mentally ill also have made little headway in the face of a powerful gun lobby.</p>
<p>A report on the December 2012 "massacre of the innocents" at a US elementary school says that the gunman had an obsession with mass murders but failed to find his motive for the crime.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In the years leading up to the shooting at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School, gunman Adam Lanza went from a merely shy pre-teen to a mentally ill recluse obsessed with school shootings, according to the report released Monday.<br /><br />The report by Connecticut State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky said Lanza, 20, was obsessed in particular with the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado.<br /><br />Lanza shot his mother inside their home before driving to his former elementary school, where he fired off 154 shots with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle within five minutes killing 20 children and six adults. He then killed himself with a handgun as police arrived.<br /><br />According to the report, authorities seized numerous items from Lanza's Newtown home, including a spreadsheet listing mass murders by name and information about the incident.<br /><br />Also found were computer bookmarks pertaining to firearms, military, politics, mass murder, video games, music, books and ammunition; two videos showing suicide by gunshot; and a five-second dramatised video depicting children being shot.<br /><br />Sedensky said there is also no clear indication why he chose Sandy Hook as the target for his rampage other than the fact that it was close to his home.<br /><br />Lanza had significant mental health issues that affected his ability to live a normal life and interact with others but did not affect his mental state for the crimes, he said.<br /><br />"The obvious question that remains is: 'Why did the shooter murder twenty-seven people, including twenty children?' Unfortunately, that question may never be answered conclusively," the report said.<br /><br />Sedensky said police went into the school within minutes of the first shots being fired and that along with the actions of teachers inside saved many children's lives.<br /><br />Since the shooting grabbed national headlines, no major gun control legislation has passed Congress despite a major push by the Obama administration.<br /><br />Federal efforts to establish background checks for firearm purchases that could limit access for the mentally ill also have made little headway in the face of a powerful gun lobby.</p>