Mother of Adam Lanza Reportedly A Doomsday Survivalist

Relatives say Nancy Lanza had collected a stockpile of assault rifles and handguns, perhaps in fear of the future. INSIDE EDITION reports.

The mother of the crazed gunman behind the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was reportedly a doomsday survivalist.

Relatives say Nancy Lanza stockpiled assault rifles, handguns and food at her colonial style home in an affluent section of Newtown, Connecticut. Those weapons were used in the massacre.

Nancy Lanza's doomsday preparations were a part of her life that she apparently kept from even old friends.

But another picture is emerging of Nancy Lanza from her close friends. She spent a lot of time at a bar and restaurant called My Place, and her friends describe her as a doting a loving mother, especially to her troubled son. The owners of My Place , Mark and John Tambascio have known Nancy for 17 years.

INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent asked Mark, "There was some reports today that she was one of these survivalists who collected guns."

"No, not at all. Nancy, I think, took up target shooting a few years back as a hobby," said Mark. "She would come in at least three times a week. She would come in for dinner with her family."

Nancy very rarely spoke about her emotionally disturbed son, but friends knew raising him had been a struggle.

Mark said, "It wasn't something that she ever really complained about. It was just something she was dealing with."

She battled the local school district over appropriate care for Adam. He once attended Sandy Hook Elementary, but Nancy ended up home schooling him.

"Like any parent, she wanted him to succeed in life and that's the impression she gave. She loved him and there was never any impression that he was violent," said John.

Nancy and her husband, Peter Lanza, a General Electric executive, divorced in 2009 after 28 years of marriage. She received their home and $240,000 a year alimony in a divorce settlement.

Her former sister-in-law says Nancy was "prepping" for a future economic collapse, saying, "Why would anybody have a gun? Times have changed, the economy has changed."

Nancy Lanza may have feared the future, but she clearly never imagined her son would turn the guns she kept to protect herself on her, and the children of Newtown. She was the first to die—shot four times in the head—still in her pajamas.

John said, "Sometimes in life you say wow, I saw that coming. But in this case, no way."