Record of the Press · 2012–Present
Released to the public · 31 OCT 2026File TBL-0004
RETRACTED

Sandy Hook: Wrong Brother Named as Shooter

14 DEC 2012 · Associated Press, CNN, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Gawker, others
Screenshot of the page as published at imediaethics.org
EXHIBIT A — Page capture from imediaethics.org. Click to open the source.

■ The claim

Many outlets named Ryan Lanza as the Sandy Hook Elementary gunman, and some circulated his Facebook profile and photo.

■ What actually happened

Early on December 14, 2012, outlets citing law enforcement sources named Ryan Lanza as the shooter. Some outlets and journalists then spread his Facebook page. The gunman was his younger brother, Adam. The AP later reported that an official had mixed up the brothers' first names. AP, the LA Times, and HuffPost acknowledged the error, and Ryan Lanza publicly protested that he had nothing to do with it.

■ The proof

Officials identified the shooter as Adam Lanza. The AP traced the error to an official who transposed the brothers' names.

■ Original reporting

■ Corrections, findings & records

■ Wayback Machine copies

Stories sometimes get edited after publication. These links open the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of each original.

Who it helped: Neither partyBreaking-news error with no political angle.

■ Grade

RETRACTED: The outlet itself retracted, corrected, or settled. How we grade →