Friday morning began like any other work day for Ryan Lanza.
The 24-year-old Hoboken resident commuted into Ernst & Young's Times Square office. He has reportedly been a senior tax employee there for the past few years.
While at his desk, Lanza looked up at the TV and saw a report that he had allegedly killed 20 or more people at Sandy Hook elementary school.
Of course, this wasn't true.
His mother was also pronounced dead.
A coworker recounted what happened next to MailOnline:
"Lanza quickly told his boss: 'I need to go,'" The Daily Mail reports. "He then walked out of his Times Square office. Thirty minutes later, New York Police stormed the office."
Lanza likely walked to Port Authority, where he could catch a bus back to his Hoboken, New Jersey home on 13th and Grand. During that time, Lanza took to Facebook to defend himself.
"IT WASN'T ME I WAS AT WORK IT WASN'T ME," He posted from a mobile device. Meanwhile, a friend commented on his page, "Um…You're on TV…"
Another friend, Brett Wilshe, checked on Lanza via Facebook message, asking if he was okay.
Wilshe relayed Lanza's response to the AP as "something along these lines":
"It was my brother. I think my mother is dead. Oh my God.'"
SEE ALSO: What It Was Like Being Ryan Lanza's Facebook Friend When The World Thought He Was A Killer
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