Adam Lanza 'Had Episodes': Club Adviser

Frontline aired Part One of its special on Adam Lanza last night, and the tech club adviser who befriended Lanza said in an interview that the teen "had episodes" in which "he would completely withdraw." Richard Novia recounts one overnight trip when Lanza had such an episode: "He completely withdraws from the social activity that you’re involved with," Novia explains. "Will not communicate. Adam, what’s going on? No answer." It got so bad that Novia called mom Nancy Lanza to pick her son up.

Novia thinks the episodes were triggered by any change from routine or "excitement." Crowds also put Lanza on edge, Novia recalls, and he tried to avoid them in the halls, which sometimes meant waiting til they passed and being late for class. But did Novia think Lanza was headed toward violence? "No. Not at that time," he says. "Not at that time he was not." Novia confirms that Lanza did, however, enjoy violent video games; he says Lanza's favorite was World of Warcraft. Frontline also obtained copies of emails Nancy Lanza sent to a close friend, including one in which she talks about her Green Beret brother teaching her how to defend herself. (More Richard Novia stories.)