Criminal histories and documented mental health problems did not prevent at least eight of the gunmen in 15 recent mass shootings from obtaining their weapons, after federal background checks led to approval of the purchases of the guns used. The F.B.I. found evidence that Mr. Farook was in touch with people domestically and abroad who have Islamist extremist views, according to officials. The chief of the San Bernardino Police Department said he was not aware of the suspects having any previous contact with law enforcement. All four guns were bought legally, two by one of the suspects and two by someone who is not considered a suspect, according to a senior federal law enforcement official. It is unclear where the guns were bought and if they were legal in California. The couple killed 14 people at a holiday party. Investigators said it is unclear if terrorism was the motive. Mr. Harper-Mercer was in the Army for one month, but was discharged before completing basic training. He graduated from the Switzer Learning Center in Torrance, Calif., which teaches students with learning disabilities and emotional issues. In all, Mr. Harper-Mercer owned 14 firearms, all of which were bought legally through a federally licensed firearms dealer, a federal official said Friday. Some were bought by Mr. Harper-Mercer, and some by members of his family. Mr. Flanagan filed a lawsuit against a TV station in Tallahassee, Fla., that had fired him, alleging he was the victim of racial slurs and bullying. He was hired at WDBJ in Roanoke, but within months his bosses had documented problems with his harsh language and aggressive behavior. He was later fired and filed another harassment lawsuit. Federal officials said Mr. Flanagan bought the gun legally from a licensed dealer. He had not been convicted of a crime or determined to be mentally ill. Mr. Flanagan killed the reporter and cameraman, injured a woman who was being interviewed and died after shooting himself. Mr. Houser was denied a state-issued concealed weapons permit because he was accused of domestic violence and soliciting arson. Mr. Houser bought the weapon in Alabama. Officials said it had been purchased legally, though he had been denied a concealed weapons permit earlier, and despite concerns among family members that he was violent and mentally ill. Mr. Roof was charged with a misdemeanor for possessing Suboxone, a prescription drug frequently sold in illegal street transactions. He purchased a gun from a store in West Columbia, S.C. Mr. Roof should have been barred from buying a gun because he had admitted to possessing drugs, but the F.B.I. examiner conducting the required background check failed to obtain the police report from the February incident. Mr. Roof joined a Bible study group at Emanuel A.M.E. Church and opened fire with the gun he bought in April. Raymond Lee Fryberg Jr., Jaylen’s father, was the subject of a permanent domestic violence protection order, which should have been entered into the federal criminal background database. Mr. Fryberg applied to buy the Beretta from a gun shop on the Indian reservation where he lived with Jaylen. A background check failed to come up with the protection order because it was never entered into the system. Jaylen Fryberg texted five of his fellow students to come to the cafeteria, where he opened fire. Specialist Lopez came back from a four-month deployment to Iraq and told his superiors that he had suffered a traumatic head injury there. Military officials said he had never seen combat and was being evaluated for possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Specialist Lopez had seen a military psychiatrist as recently as the month before the shooting. He was being treated for depression and anxiety, and had been prescribed Ambien to help him sleep. Mr. Lopez bought his gun at the same shop where Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army major, had bought at least one of the weapons used in a 2009 mass shooting on the base that killed 13 people. Mr. Alexis was given an honorable discharge after showing what Navy officials called a “pattern of misbehavior” during four years as a reservist. He twice sought treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs for psychiatric issues. He told police in Rhode Island that people were pursuing him and sending vibrations through the walls of his hotel. He was stopped from buying an assault rifle at a Virginia gun store, but was allowed to buy a shotgun. He passed local and state background checks. Mr. Lanza graduated from high school. Some classmates said he had been bullied in high school. He struggled with a developmental disorder and was described as acutely shy, not known to have close friends. He was “completely untreated in the years before the shooting” for psychiatric and physical ailments like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, a state report found. His mother, Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast, legally obtained and registered a large collection of weapons and would often take her sons to shooting ranges. Mr. Lanza used his mother’s guns to kill her and 26 others. While in the Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Tex., Mr. Page was charged with criminal mischief after kicking holes in the wall of a bar. He pleaded guilty. He came to the attention of authorities because of his affiliation with a white-power band called End Apathy, which performed songs with violent lyrics. He bought the firearm legally at a gun shop outside Milwaukee. He passed a background check and paid $650 in cash. Over four months, Mr. Holmes legally bought more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition for handguns, 3,000 rounds for a semiautomatic rifle and 350 shells for a 12-gauge shotgun, all over the Internet. He was seeing a psychiatrist and in the process of withdrawing from a graduate program at the University of Colorado Denver’s Anschutz Medical Campus. In the 60 days before the shooting, he bought four guns legally at local gun shops. Seeing a psychiatrist, even for a serious mental illness, would not disqualify him from buying a gun.
↧