Talk:Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting

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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.

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:

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.

Connecticut Mid‑importance

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Schools Mid‑importance

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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]

Request to Add HONR Network Information to Legacy Section

Hello Wikipedia editors, I am requesting an edit to the protected page Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to add reliably sourced, neutral information about the HONR Network to the “Legacy” section. The new material reflects significant coverage in secondary sources and is intended to improve completeness and accuracy of the section.

I am not autoconfirmed, so I am submitting the proposed text here for review and implementation.

1. Addition to Legacy section (after the existing first sentence)

Please add the following sentence immediately after the current opening sentence of the Legacy section:

The [[HONR Network]], founded in 2014 by Lenny Pozner (father of victim Noah Pozner), works to protect families of mass-shooting victims from online harassment and conspiracy theories.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandy-hook-shooting-lenny-pozner-mission-to-change-tech-company-policies-misinformation/ |title=Lenny Pozner, father of Sandy Hook victim, fights online harassment |date=2019-10-17 |work=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/sandy-hook-father-lenny-pozner-takes-conspiracy-theorists-court-n1109351 |title=Sandy Hook father takes on conspiracy theorists in court |date=2019-10-16 |work=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Williamson |first=Elizabeth |year=2022 |title=Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth |publisher=Dutton |isbn=9780593326845 |page=182}}</ref>

2. Request to add a new subsection on HONR Network notability

Given the extensive independent coverage and policy impact documented in multiple reliable sources, I am also proposing the following subsection:

=== Notability of HONR Network === The HONR Network has been the subject of significant secondary coverage for its efforts to combat online harassment and conspiracy theories targeting families of mass-shooting victims. Established in 2014 by Lenny Pozner, the organization became notable for influencing content-moderation policies on major technology platforms, including Google, Facebook, and YouTube.<ref>{{cite book |last=Williamson |first=Elizabeth |year=2022 |title=Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth |publisher=Dutton |isbn=9780593326845 |page=182}}</ref> Its work has been profiled by national news outlets, including CBS News and NBC News, which documented Pozner’s legal actions and advocacy efforts to hold conspiracy theorists accountable and improve platform responses to misinformation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandy-hook-shooting-lenny-pozner-mission-to-change-tech-company-policies-misinformation/ |title=Lenny Pozner, father of Sandy Hook victim, fights online harassment |date=2019-10-17 |work=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/sandy-hook-father-lenny-pozner-takes-conspiracy-theorists-court-n1109351 |title=Sandy Hook father takes on conspiracy theorists in court |date=2019-10-16 |work=NBC News}}</ref>

All sources used meet Wikipedia’s requirements for reliability and independence.

Thank you for reviewing this request. Boluwatifemoses (talk) 23:10, 3 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This is more on topic at Leonard Pozner, although it could have a brief mention here.--♦IanMacM♦ ^{(talk to me)} 08:08, 4 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Adam Lanza

I believe, correct me please if there are wikirules about this, that we should not have Adam Lanzas name within this article as it is giving him publicity. Lanza should not be included in any media due to his horrific acts. All we are doing by having him as the perp is giving him a name, exactly what most mass shooters want. Lilpippybars (talk) 23:49, 14 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, he can and should be named, but as sparingly as possible, and should not have his own separate article. Acroterion (talk) 00:44, 15 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]