Lawyers for the family of the El Paso shooter say the gunman’s mother contacted police about her son’s purchase of an “AK-style” rifle. What did she say to police?
The mother contacted police because she was worried about her son owning the weapon given his age, maturity level and lack of experience handling such a firearm, attorneys Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres said.
During the call, the mother was transferred to a public safety officer who told her that—based on her description of the situation—her son, 21, was legally allowed to purchase the weapon, the attorneys said. The mother did not provide her name or her son’s name, and police did not seek any additional information from her before the call concluded, they added.
Let’s review “age, maturity level and lack of experience.” These are not disqualifiers for owning a gun and no “red flag law” would have removed his firearm from him. Did she have psychiatric concerns that she shared with the police? Did she fear he was a danger? Not that she told the police. What were they supposed to do?
According to the family’s attorneys, the mother’s inquiry was “informational” in nature and was not motivated out of a concern that her son posed a threat to anybody. “This was not a volatile, explosive, erratic behaving kid,” said Chris Ayres. “It’s not like alarm bells were going off.”
Apparently, those closest to him did not think he was a threat.
Crusius was a typical young man in some ways, confused about his path in life, according to another source familiar with the family. He was considering transferring to a four-year university, enlisting in the military and looking for a fulltime job. “He was trying to figure out what to do next” the source said. “When did the wheels come off? We don’t know” the source added.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether a 4-page manifesto posted online before the massacre belonged to the gunman.