This article was left in the comments of one of my posts.
Jacksonville gaming tournament shooter had been hospitalized for mental illness, documents show
The gunman who opened fire on a “Madden NFL 19” tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sunday was hospitalized previously for mental illness, according to court records.
Divorce filings from the parents of 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore showed that as a teenager he was hospitalized twice in psychiatric facilities and was prescribed anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications, The Associated Press first reported Monday…
Katz legally purchased his firearms — .45 caliber and 9mm handguns — in Baltimore, Maryland, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told reporters. He bought them within the past month from a licensed dealer, officials said.
Turning to the ATF form 4473, question 11.f.:
“Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?”
As per the instructions:
I’m not a lawyer, but it seems to me that Katz here was in violation of 11.f. big time.
So how did he not get flagged by NICS, not once but twice?
Who in the great anti-gun state of Maryland dropped that particular ball.
Once again, it seems we have ourselves a mass shooting that was partially facilitated by bureaucratic incompetence.
well, when this gets out that’ll meant Everytown will stop talking about it, instantly.
He was committed as a teenager, according to your information. Wouldn’t that be a juvenile record? Aren’t juvenile mental-health records sealed, like juvenile criminal records? (I don’t know, one way or the other, but, if so, then Maryland incompetence would, unfortunately, not be a factor here. His obligation with respect to the 4473 might also be a gray area. And then, you have the whole issue of whether the government can compel self-incrimination on a 4473–the supreme court has already ruled that they can’t compel same on the ATF forms….
That’s MY state. But the purpose of gun control in Maryland is not to go after bad actors that use guns or prevent same from getting them. No, if that were the case they’d prosecute gun crimes more than just a token amount. The purpose of gun control here is to make it onerous for law abiding gun owners to have and buy and use guns. They inconvenience people. And the laws are a mess. Read em. There isn’t much to it. You wonder how they can use that legal language to really enforce much of anything at all. Loopholes abound that go BOTH ways.
Was he involuntarily committed? Commitment to an institution doesn’t count if you check yourself in.
He was 10 or 12
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/gaming-tournament-shooting-highlights-security-or-lack-of-it-1.544515
Unless he was adjudicated as mentally defective (had to have had due process) or was INVOLUNTARILY committed federally he was not a prohibited person. Some states (Illinois) have additional restrictions (for Illinois no firearm possession for (five) years after an overnight stay in a psych unit. I do not know about Maryland’s laws.
If you walk in on your own and ask to be evaluated you’re not adjudicated or committed; even if you’re admitted for treatment.
We’re going to have to start understanding the nuances of this stuff real fast since we’re getting “at risk” confiscation laws everywhere.
And then you have to factor in what EXACTLY constitutes ‘involuntary’.
For a teen, the parents could ‘voluntarily’ commit him against his wishes. As a minor, he would have no say in the matter, but it wouldn’t be the Govt. doing the committing, so…. (shrugs)
Whenever I get in a conversation about “common sense gun laws,” I say, yes, I’m all for them, and suggest the following as a useful start:
1. If, as a property owner, you post your property as a gun free zone, you are legally liable for any damages resulting from anyone using a firearm on your property. (In other words, if you post it, you have to make it real, with metal detectors, etc.)
2. If you’re legally allowed to carry a firearm in any state, you’re allowed to carry in all states. (national reciprocity, like drivers’ licenses)
3. If you are carrying legally, and you use a firearm in defense of self or others, you are presumed to have done so legally. (In other words, the police and DA must have enough evidence to prove otherwise, in order to arrest you.)
Feel free to suggest others. IMO, suggesting common sense gun laws when the topic comes up is something we should all be doing….
YMMV…
[…] at Gun Free Zone wonders how the Jax shooter legally purchased his guns considering he’d been committed to a mental institution by his parents. My guess is that his commitment was as a minor and not included in […]