Free Newtown: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak

magazine.”
    Adam then listed the Connecticut gun laws:
    “My state (Connecticut) has its own state-level assault weapons ban. In it is the following: Sec. 53-202a. Assault weapons: Definition. (a) . . . inclusive, “assault weapon” means: (1) . . . any of the following specified semiautomatic firearms: . . . Avtomat Kalashnikov AK-47 type . . .
    “According to what I have read, to be an ‘AK-47 type,’ the firearm must be aesthetically similar to an AK-47, operate similarly, and have interchangeable parts. From a perfunctory search of Google, I have seen multiple people claim that because the CZ Vz. 58 does not meet these three requirements, it is not an ‘AK-47 type’ and it is thus legal for sale in Connecticut. Does anyone have any information on this?”
    Two responses were posted on the board: “It’s not an AK type at all. Enjoy your Vz58:),” one responded.
    “It’s not an AK-47 type. Just make sure you get one with a fixed stock so that it conforms to the other stupid part of the CT AWB,” responded another.
    Adam posted appreciatively early the next morning at 1:42  A.M .: “I suppose that if a PTR-91 (almost an exact clone of an HK-91) is allowed, then a Vz. 58 would be. Thank you.:)”
    In another thread, started on August 27, 2009, Adam posted another question about the legality of modifying a firearm so that it can shoot more bullets more quickly:
    “In Connecticut, fully automatic firearms are legal to own but selective fire is prohibited. I vaguely recall reading ~1 year agoabout a company which alters them to fire exclusively automatically (or something in that vein), but I do not know how that process works. For example, with whom would I correspond to modify a Title II M2 Carbine that is currently in another state to fire fully automatically before it is sent to Connecticut?”
    Several members on the message board responded with suggestions.
    Later that day, Adam responded to a post from a member looking for suggestions on what kind of weapon to purchase for himself for his birthday:
    “Have you looked at the Kel-Tec SU-16? It can be found for under $650 and utilizes STANAG magazines.”
    Besides showing off his encyclopedic knowledge of weaponry, his posts also revealed his discomfort with face-to-face interactions. On October 12, 2009, he began a discussion titled “The legality of the CZ vz. 61 Skorpion in CT?” and asked: “A pistol referred to as the ‘Scarab Skorpion’ is banned. Does anyone know if that by extension bans the unrelated CZ vz. 61?”
    After one person suggested that Adam contact the Connecticut State Police, he responded by writing that he preferred not to deal with anyone in person. “I always prefer asking through proxy when I can avoid speaking to someone directly. I was just wondering if anyone knew because I have a fetish for .32 ACP,” he replied the next day.
    In one post, on October 13, 2009, Adam even showed a sense of humor when posting on another weapons discussion board, Glock Talk: “Am I just an inattentive philistine or has additional RAM in a computer which was not already deprived of it never helped any of you?”
    A s Adam’s mastery of violent video games and high-powered weapons developed, another fixation began to reveal itself. Between August 2009 and February 2010, Adam spent hours poring over entries about mass killers on Wikipedia. Still under the alias “Kaynbred,” Adam went into the communal encyclopedia, obsessively correcting small details of the killers’ lives.
    One entry Adam worked on was the Collier Township shooting where, on August 4, 2009, George Sodini walked into a health club in a suburb of Pittsburgh, and killed three and injured nine before taking his own life. In another posting Adam revised the description of a firearm used in the September 13, 2006, shooting at Dawson College in Montreal. In that incident, gunman Kimveer Gill began shooting outside the main entrance of the school, killing one and