Adam Lanza's Motive: He Feared Being Institutionalized

Mother was about to have him committed

The mother of the Sandy Hook shooter, Nancy Lanza, was in the process of having her son committed to a psychiatric facility when he went on the mass shooting spree, a lifelong family associate told Fox News. A senior law enforcement official also confirmed that 20-year-old Lanza's anger over his mother's plan is being investigated as a possible motive for the Newtown shooting.
"From what I've been told, Adam was aware of her petitioning the court for conservatorship and (her) plans to have him committed," said Joshua Flashman, 25, who grew up not far from where the shooting took place. "Adam was apparently very upset about this. He thought she just wanted to send him away. From what I understand, he was really, really angry. I think this could have been it, what set him off." It's unclear whether Adam's mother, Nancy Lanza, was really filing the paperwork, because court officials say that such records are sealed. But she would have gone through a longer process to get legal rights to commit an adult to a hospital or psych ward against his will.