Adam Lanza was an honors student in high school, so what led to this sort of destructive behavior that caused him to lead such a devious and horrific massacre?

Adam Lanza was known as a troubled 20-year-old with a history of autistic behavior who lived with his mother, Nancy, in the upscale neighborhood of Newtown, Connecticut.

Lanza’s father, Peter Lanza, divorced his mother in 2008 due to “irreconcilable differences.”

Adam Lanza shot his mother at their home in Connecticut, before going on a killing spree at the elementary school she taught at, with victims including 20 children and three faculty members.

Lanza used two semi-automatic pistols and a .223 caliber rifle, which all belonged to his mother, who was an avid gun collector.

Nancy took her children to the gun range many times before, and showed them her weapons.

Former peers of Adam Lanza recall him being a quiet Honors student, who dressed conservatively, often wearing khaki pants and button-down shirts.

Adam Lanza was described as highly intelligent, some going so far as calling him a genius.

So what could drive a 20-year-old to commit such heinous act?

Let’s see what we can piece together by looking at all of the evidence.

“Sandy Hook mass murderer Adam Lanza, 20, ‘deeply disturbed kid’” – The New York Daily News

“A ticking time bomb,” according to “people who knew him”

“He was smart,” the insider said. “He was like one of these real brainiac computer kind of kids.”

“A few years ago when he was on the baseball team, everyone had to be careful that he didn’t fall because he could get hurt and not feel it,” said the friend. “Adam had a lot of mental problems.”

“Adam Lanza has been a weird kid since we were 5 years old,” a neighbor and former classmate named Tim Dalton wrote on Twitter.

“Adam Lanza has been a weird kid since we were 5 years old,” a neighbor and former classmate named Tim Dalton wrote on Twitter.

School gunman was “troubled and shy”, neighbors and classmates say – The New York Post

“He was just a weird kid. He was a very quiet kid, a shy kid, maybe socially awkward,” said Beth Israel, a neighbor.

“He also belonged to a technology club whose members hooked up their computers into a small network to play games.”

“[He was] kind of, like, needy. I wouldn’t say antisocial, but struggling to be social,” said neighbor Justin Germak, a troubled “genius”

“A Gunman, Recalled as Intelligent and Shy, Who Left Few Footprints in Life” – The New York Times

“He carried a black briefcase to his 10th-grade honors English class, and sat near the door so he could readily slip in and out.”

“When called upon, he was intelligent, but nervous and fidgety, spitting his words out, as if having to speak up were painful.”

“Adam Lanza did not even appear in his high school yearbook, that of the class of 2010. His spot on the page said, “Camera shy.” Others who graduated that year said they did not believe he had finished school.”

“They [residents of Newtown] weren’t surprised,” she said. “They said he always seemed like he was someone who was capable of that because he just didn’t really connect with our high school, and didn’t really connect with our town.”

“‘Shock’ in Connecticut that ‘nice kid’ could be responsible for such horror” – CNN

“In September 2009 — when Adam Lanza was 17 — his mother and father divorced, court documents show. What happened after that for him isn’t clear”

“His former bus driver, Marsha Moskowitz, told CNN affiliate WABC that he was “a nice kid, very polite” like his brother.”

“A former classmate told CNN affiliate WCBS that Lanza “was just a kid” — not a troublemaker, not anti-social, not suggesting in any way that he could erupt like this.”

Jordan Shepherd | Elite.