Ryan Lanza Imposter Posted Messages on Facebook, Lanza Family Says
The New York Post published a story Sunday featuring a Facebook interview with Ryan Lanza, the brother of Newtown, Conn., gunman Adam Lanza. A spokesman for the Lanza family, however, said an imposter is behind the Facebook messages.
Lanza was quoted by the Post as saying, "I am a victim. I loss (sic) my mom and brother."
The 24-year-old's Facebook page also featured a picture of Adam Lanza and the comment "I will miss you bro. I will always love you as long as I live."
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A similar posting was made with a photo of his mother, Nancy, who was shot by Adam Lanza Dec. 14 along with 26 other people.
Hours after the New York Post published its Facebook interview with Ryan, the publication updated the article to say, "A spokesman for the Lanza family says an imposter is behind Ryan Lanza's Facebook page and that Ryan did not post the messages in this story."
Adam Lanza, 20, killed 27 people, including 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, on the morning of Dec. 14. He turned the gun on himself before police found him.
The final funerals of the Newtown victims were held Saturday.
Initially, the media misreported that Ryan Lanza was the shooter before state police confirmed it was his younger brother, Adam, who was behind the rampage.
Peter Lanza, father of the gunman, said he and his family were in a state of disbelief and that they too are asking why.
"Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are," he said.
Jeanne Sager, who writes for The Stir, made the case that the Lanza family deserves the public's sympathy too.
"We are looking for someone to blame. But we already have that someone. Adam Lanza shot up a school. Adam Lanza murdered children," she wrote. "His father is not a victim in the way that those children are. He is blessed with his life. But he is a victim all the same."
