Was Adam Lanza an Anders Breivik copycat? Why experts are skeptical (+video)
Investigators formulated this theory after finding news articles about the Norway shooting in the Lanza home and posited Lanza may have felt an urge to compete with Breivik. The reports suggest that Lanza wanted to exceed Breivik’s body count, not that he was inspired by the extreme right-wing ideology of Breivik, who called himself a "Christian crusader."
Investigators also found thousands of dollars worth of violent video games in the basement of the Lanza home, where Lanza would reportedly spend hours honing his shooting skills in a private gaming room with the windows blacked out. Officials speaking with PBS’s "Frontline" say Lanza may have been inspired by these video games, since he changed the magazines of his weapons more frequently than needed.
Connecticut police have dismissed the report as speculation.
“All of it is speculation. There is no basis to the CBS story,” Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said in a statement read on CNN. “We have not established a motive. It's inaccurate," he added.
Experts in the criminal-justice community are similarly skeptical of ascribing violent behavior to video games.
