NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The Connecticut home of the man who carried out the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary school has been demolished, Newtown officials said Tuesday.

Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, inside the house on the morning of Dec. 14, 2012, then drove to the school where he gunned down 20 children and six adults before committing suicide. The killings galvanized gun-control groups around the country.

The 2-acre (.81-hectare) lot where the 3,100-square-foot (288-square meter) house once stood in a leafy, suburban neighbourhood will be left as open space under a plan approved by town officials.

Several neighbours had asked for the building to be taken down, describing it as a constant reminder of the tragedy. Among them, Dave Ackart said in a letter: "Not only is the property a constant reminder of the evil that resided there -- those of us who walk, run, drive, ride or otherwise must pass it multiple times a day, are having a hard time moving on."

The yellow house with green shutters on Yogananda Street was torn down Monday, Newtown Legislative Council Chair Mary Ann Jacob said. Everything inside the home, including rugs and lighting fixtures, had previously been removed and incinerated so that no remnants were available to become memorabilia.

The Lanza family moved from southern New Hampshire and bought the new house in 1998.

The property was given to the town in December by a bank that acquired it from the Lanza family. Since the shooting more than two years ago, the house stood vacant.