Orlando Harris' family pleaded with Missouri police to confiscate the 19-year-old's bulletproof vest, ammunition, and AR-15-style rifle. They knew his mental health was fragile after more than one suicide attempt. Nine days later, Harris entered his former St. Louis high school and declared, "All of you are going to die." A new 456-page police report details the efforts Harris' family took to try to take his gun away in the days before he walked into Central Visual and Performing Arts High School on Oct. 24, 2022, when he killed a student and a teacher and wounded seven others before he was fatally shot by police, per the AP.
Missouri isn't among the 21 states with a red-flag law. Also known as extreme risk protection orders, red-flag laws are intended to restrict the purchase of guns or temporarily remove them from people who may hurt themselves or others. Harris' case highlights how hard it is for law enforcement to restrict gun access, even when there are clues something is deeply amiss. After being blocked by an FBI background check from buying a firearm from a licensed dealer in St. Charles, Missouri, Harris drove to a nearby suburb on Oct. 10, 2022, to pay a man $580 in cash for the rifle used in the shooting. Harris' family grew more concerned on Oct. 15, when two packages from gun and ammunition suppliers arrived. One of his sisters opened them, finding a body armor vest, magazine holsters, and magazines.
She then searched his bedroom and found the rifle. Harris' mother, Tanya Ward, called BJC Mental Health Services, and staff there "deemed the situation as an immediate threat." They advised her to take the items to the police and tell officers about her son's mental illness. Cops, however, told her they couldn't take the firearm because Harris was of legal age to possess it. Officers suggested a storage unit. Ultimately, the firearm and other items were loaded into the trunk of Harris' sister's vehicle, and she drove her brother to a storage facility 5 miles from the high school. She told police she "knew something was going to happen." On Oct. 24, shots rang out as Harris entered his former high school. After the shooting, Harris' mother received a voicemail from a hospital asking if she still needed help with her son. More here.
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