"Nancy Lanza had grown up a ‘live free or die’ New Hampshire gal, and she had a sense that guns were part of everyday life,'' author and journalist Andrew Solomon told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Monday. Nancy, a gun enthusiast who was shot and killed by her son, kept several firearms in the house. The Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle that Adam used belonged to her. "I don’t think guns should be a part of everyday life, but I think they had no sense that Adam was dangerous. They thought he was peculiar, but they never thought he would hurt anyone. Peter, who taught him to drive, said he was the 'safest, most cautious, most rule-following person I ever met.'''
Peter Lanza said he thought his son was "a normal, weird little kid" but by the time he reached middle school "it was crystal clear something was wrong."
"The social awkwardness, the uncomfortable anxiety, unable to sleep, stress, unable to concentrate, having a hard time learning, the awkward walk, reduced eye contact," he said. "You could see the changes occurring."
"He said...that he really felt that he wished Adam had never been born, and he said he struggled with coming to that, but what happened was so horrific he could only wish it away,'' Solomon said.
It is the first time since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, when Adam fatally shot 20 children and six staff members before killing himself, that Peter Lanza has spoken out.
"He's haunted,'' Solomon said about Peter Lanza. "He wishes he could go back in time and fix what went wrong. He’s a kind, decent man, and he’s horrified that his own child could’ve caused this destruction."