Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting

Skip to table of contents

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help. Assume good faith Be polite and avoid personal attacks Be welcoming to newcomers Seek dispute resolution if needed Article policies Neutral point of view No original research Verifiability

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives (index): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10Auto-archiving period: 30 days

This page is not a forum for general discussion about Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Any such comments may be removed or refactored. Please limit discussion to improvement of this article. You may wish to ask factual questions about Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at the Reference desk.

view · edit Frequently asked questions This section is here to provide answers to some questions that have been previously discussed on this talk page. Note: This FAQ is only here to let people know that these points have previously been addressed, not to prevent any further discussion of these issues. To view an explanation to the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question. General concerns and questions Q1: I have an issue with the name of this article. A1: You can post a message on this page about your concern. Please note that renaming of the article will be limited until after some time has passed so that it can be looked at with some retrospect. If you would like to suggest a certain name for the article, then it might be recommended to wait until the renaming process begins. If you would like to make sure that your name hasn't already been suggested, then please first look at the various Archived Talk pages (such as Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting/Archive 1, Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting/Archive 2, Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting/Archive 3 and so on), and the current talk page. Q2: I have an issue about the Bath School disaster being mentioned; I have an issue with the disaster not being mentioned. A2: As with the above question, you can post a message on this page about your concern with the wording of the sentence. If you would like to suggest different wording, then make sure to detail why your change would be an improvement in your post on this talk page. However, it is recommended to check the archive first to see if the specific suggestion to the wording has not already been discussed. Q3: I have an issue about the mother, Nancy Lanza, being mentioned or not being mentioned as a victim of the shooting. A3: Before posting a message, please check the article's various archived talk pages (like Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting/Archive 1, Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting/Archive 2) and check the Talk page's Archive index along with the current talk page before adding a new section. Discussion has occurred on this matter before, so please make sure that your point hasn't already been covered by past discussion before opening a possibly redundant thread. You can still post a message on this page if your concerns were not answered by past discussion or you believe that there is something that could change consensus on the issue. Q4: I heard there was an NBC News report that said only handguns were used. Why isn't that in the article? A4: This issue emanates from an NBC TODAY Show Pete Williams report early on the morning of December 15th. The information is outdated because at a press conference at 3:30 that afternoon, the Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner stated that casualties were caused by a long gun/rifle, which was later confirmed by various media reports as well as a definitive press release from the Connecticut State Police on January 18, 2013, giving details of the weapons recovered inside the school. In this video from December 15, 2012, Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, the Chief Medical Examiner of Connecticut, is asked about the wounds. At 1:13 he says "All the ones that I know of at this point were caused by the long weapon." The NBC report now carries the following message: "Editor’s note: Later on Dec. 15, officials updated the public on this story. For more details see NBCNews.com/shooting-update." On March 28, 2013, MSNBC, along with other news organizations, published court documents showing that the Bushmaster rifle was the primary weapon used in the school shooting.[1] The NBC report has been discussed before on this talk page and continues to be posted about at Article Feedback. Talk page/Archive3/Bushmaster rifle Talk page/Archive 3/Weapon used was a rifle Talk page/Archive 5/Handguns or Bushmaster? If this information does not answer your questions, you can perform a search of this Talk page's Archives by typing your search term into the white box above and then clicking on the Search Archive button beside it. You can still post a message on this talk page if your concerns were not addressed by past discussions or if you think that there is something that could change consensus on this issue. Q5: I have an issue with Asperger syndrome being mentioned in the article. A5: Various people told investigators and the media that Adam Lanza had received a diagnosis of AS. Medical experts have said that even if he did receive this diagnosis, it would not provide an explanation for the shooting. The article attempts to put this into context. Q6: Why does the article not give a motive for the shooting? A6: Investigators have not made any public comment on what the motive might have been. The media has suggested several possibilities, but they are all speculative at the current time. Q7: I heard [something] about [someone] who supposedly could have some [possible] connection to the crime...why isn't this in the article? A7: Since the shooting occurred, news reports, especially the early ones, have reported on connections that various people might have had with the crime, but those reports have usually turned out to be erroneous and have maligned innocent people. If you have come to this talk page to post a theory that is not supported by multiple up-to-date reliable sources, please note that Wikipedia policies about living persons apply across the entire encyclopedia. Posts that are judged to be against Wikipedia policies will be removed. Q8: I heard that Adam Lanza's death record said that he died the day before the shooting. A8: Numerous blogs have claimed this, but they have all cited a page on www.genealogy.com, which is not a reliable source and has a disclaimer about its accuracy. Unless this is confirmed by mainstream media sources, it will not be added to the article. Q9: Why isn't there a separate article about Adam Lanza or other members of the Lanza family? A9: This issue has been previously discussed at least four times on this talk page as seen in the following Archive pages: Archive 2 at Adam Lanza article? Archive 4 at Separate article for Adam Lanza? Archive 5 at Adam Lanza standalone article? Archive 7 at Separate article for Adam Lanza?. The general editorial consensus of these discussions was that there is not enough notability for an Adam Lanza Wikipedia article to be sustained on its own and that, unless new information from reliable sources is presented, any possible Adam Lanza article would essentially be a WP:CONTENTFORK of this article. Also, this Question/Answer is being posted here in the FAQ to let present and future readers that this matter has been discussed before, not to forestall any further discussion. Q10: I heard Adam Lanza's YouTube channel was discovered. Why isn't it in the article? A10: Despite compelling circumstantial evidence, no reliable sources have reported on Lanza's supposed YouTube channel. As such, any speculation regarding his YouTube activity is original research, which is unsuitable for Wikipedia articles.

This article was nominated for deletion. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination: speedy keep, 15 December 2012, see discussion. speedy keep, 14 December 2012, see discussion.

A news item involving Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the In the news section on 14 December 2012.

Wikipedia

A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on December 14, 2015 and December 14, 2022.

While the biographies of living persons policy does not apply directly to the subject of this article, it may contain material that relates to living persons, such as friends and family of persons no longer living, or living persons involved in the subject matter. Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material about living persons must be removed immediately. If such material is re-inserted repeatedly, or if there are other concerns related to this policy, please see this noticeboard.

This  level-5 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects.

Connecticut Mid‑importance Connecticut portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Connecticut, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Connecticut on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale. An editor has requested that an image or photograph of many requests from Article Feedback be added to this article. Crime and Criminal Biography: Serial, mass, and spree killers High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Crime and Criminal Biography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of crime and criminal biography on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by the Serial Killer task force (assessed as Low-importance). Death Low‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Death, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Death on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale. Disaster management Low‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Disaster management, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Disaster management on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale. Politics: American / Gun politics Mid‑importance Politics portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Politics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of politics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by American politics task force (assessed as Mid-importance). This article is supported by Gun politics task force (assessed as Mid-importance). Schools Mid‑importance Schools portal This article is related to WikiProject Schools, a collaborative effort to write quality articles about schools around the world. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page. Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale. 2010s 2010s portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject 2010s, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of 2010s on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.

This article has been mentioned by a media organization: "How does Wikipedia deal with a mass shooting? A frenzied start gives way to a few core editors". Nieman Journalism Lab. December 18, 2012.

This article has been viewed enough times in a single week to appear in the Top 25 Report. The week in which this happened: May 22 to 28, 2022

Adam Lanza's own page.

I feel like Adam should get his own page on Wikipedia, there are quite a lot of details about his life that would definitely be given more Justice if he was given his own page, because then you would be able to go into more detail about it without the page for the shooting getting too long.

At the very least I do feel like somebody should at least add Adam's photograph. Caratrox (talk) 23:18, 4 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See A9 of the FAQ. My memory might be faulty but it is my understanding that there are no fair-use images of Lanza. - Shearonink (talk) 23:46, 4 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen plenty of images of Adam that have been used in various articles and videos centered around the shooting, the DMV took Adams drivers image, but that image was used by Adam in the context of his purpose, that image has been used in various places, and the article on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting would fall under fair use because this is a non-profit organization that would be using the image for educational uses only, not to mention you also have Elliot Rodgers drivers image on his page. Caratrox (talk) 00:24, 5 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I tried to do a search in this article's talk page archives about a photo of Lanza and was unsuccessful but I am fairly certain that at one time there was a photo of Lanza in this article but it was rejected or deleted because its provenance/copyright status/etc couldn't be proven. Oh, and re: Elliott Rodgers"? See the essay WP:OTHERCONTENT. Wikipedia content is created by consensus. If a photo of Lanza isn't already here in this article, consensus would seem to be against including it for one reason or another. Wikipedia is very careful about images and their copyright status, the internet in general is not. But anyway, have at it, make a formal proposal if you wish, etc. Shearonink (talk) 01:54, 5 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry about this. I am new to Wikipedia, I mostly use fandom, which doesn't have nearly as many restrictions on what you can upload 😅 Caratrox (talk) 01:56, 5 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There is no photo of Adam Lanza in the article because there are very few and they are not free to use; see also this thread. The longstanding consensus is that Lanza does not need a separate article, and Draft:Adam Lanza has never gone live in mainspace because it is a train wreck.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 08:18, 5 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Keep in mind that Lanza fits WP:BIO1E - was not notable for anything else but the involvement here. There's very little else that can be said about him outside of the context of the shooting, so it does not make sense for a separate article. Masem (t) 13:23, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

but what about the whole image thing, there are two images of Adam that are of his driver's ID photo, and his school ID photo, from what I've seen of Salvador Ramos and Elliot Rodger on this wiki, their ID photos seem to be fair game, why not Adam Lanza? Those were the main two images used in the news outlets.

If you aren't aware of what images I'm talking about, I'll describe them here.

Adam School ID: he has a stupid bowl cut, extremely wide eyes and a very skeletal frame, this one is pretty low quality, not in how it's taken but just the quality in general.

Adam driver ID: his hair is a bit more curled in this, and he has a less wide-eyed expression, still looks like a crackhead though. Caratrox (talk) 13:31, 16 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm curious about what Wikipedia's notability guidelines in relation to mass shooters are because it seems fairly arbitrary whether or not they receive an article separate from the article about their crimes. It seems to be that the perpetrators of the deadliest shootings up to that point receive their own articles, but then again, the perpetrators of the San Ysidro McDonald's massacre and the Luby's massacre do not have their own articles, despite both committing the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history up to that point. In addition to this, several shooters whose attacks were not the deadliest up to that point have their own articles. Perhaps I am understanding/overestimating how much media certain shooters received, but it seems as if the policy regarding this is rather inconsistent. Thank you for reading. NesserWiki (talk) 12:38, 28 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Defamation lawsuit money is actually much higher

The source (from 2024) listed in this article lists the payout to be $965 million, but this article[2] from NPR (published in 2025) lists the money to be at $1.3 billion. As such, the corresponding information in this article should be updated. QuisEstJoe (talk) 16:36, 14 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sure thing! I've changed that. Thanks for the new info.

⚠︎ ArkadenBoden ⚠︎ (talk) 12:32, 17 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]