Orlando Harris’ family called for the assault rifle to be confiscated before the Missouri school shooting

AP
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Orlando Harris’ family begged Missouri police to seize the 19-year-old’s body armor, ammunition and AR-15 rifle. They knew his mental health was fragile after more than one suicide attempt. But the best officers could do well in a state with some of the most expanded gun rights It is suggested that Harris keeps the gun in a storage room.

Nine days later, Harris went to his former high school in St. Louis and declared, “You’re all going to die.”

A new 456-page police report details the efforts Harris’ family made to try to take his gun in the days before he walked into Central Visual Arts and Performing Arts High School on Oct. 24, 2022, when he killed a student and a teacher and injured seven others before being fatally shot by police.

Missouri is not 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 could hurt themselves or someone else.

The case shows how difficult it is for law enforcement to restrict access to weapons, even when there is evidence that something is seriously wrong.

After one Army reservist killed 18 people in October 2023 in Lewiston, Maine, a research found missed opportunities to intervene in the shooter’s psychiatric crisis. And before a 14 year old was charged with a deadly shooting this fall at his high school in Georgiaa deputy spoke to him about an online threat the family warned about “extreme emergency.”

The research The report in Harris’ case shows that the first time he attempted suicide was in the fall of 2021, just before he was set to enter college. Pandemic disruptions, a friend’s arrest in a murder case and a car accident may all have contributed to his depression, his family and former boss told investigators.

The police report does not mention that he went to college. Instead, he worked in the cafeteria of a retirement home, where he sometimes discussed guns with colleagues.

The following August, he met with a University of Washington psychiatrist, telling her he was thinking about shooting people at his old school. He said the thoughts only lasted one night and went away, and that there was no planning and he didn’t want to do it.

But soon after, Harris began counting down to the shooting. His plans include detailed maps of the school and a plan focused on teachers, students and the LGBTQ community. He also had plans to burn down his family’s house with them inside.

The psychiatrist prescribed medications, but Harris did not fill the prescriptions. According to the report, they have developed a contingency plan.

Washington University did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Harris then stopped showing up for appointments.

On October 8, he attempted to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer in St. Charles, Missouri, but was unsuccessful blocked through an FBI background check. The report does not explain why, and police did not respond to an email from the AP. The FBI provided only a list of the 12 reasons for a refusal without further details.

Then on October 10, Harris drove to a nearby suburb to pay a man $580 in cash for the rifle used in the shooting.

Harris’ family became more concerned on October 15, when two packages arrived from gun and ammunition suppliers. One of his sisters, Noneeka Harris, opened them and found a body armor, magazine holsters and magazines. She then searched his bedroom and found the gun in an old TV box.

Harris’ mother, Tanya Ward, called BJC Mental Health Services and staff there “viewed the situation as an immediate threat.” They advised her to take the items to the police station and tell officers about her son’s mental illness.

Police at the station told her they could not take the firearm because Harris was of legal age to own it. They told her to go home and an officer would meet them there. By the time she returned, Harris was home and insisted he keep the gun.

His mother was convinced the gun wasn’t in the house, so the officers suggested a storage area. According to the report, the officers also advised her on the steps she needed to take to have her son considered mentally unstable.

Federal law has prohibited some mentally ill people from purchasing guns since 1968, including those who are considered a danger to themselves or others, who were committed involuntarily, or who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity or who are incapable of to stand trial.

Ultimately, the firearm and other items were loaded into the trunk of Harris’ sister’s vehicle, including a box of ammunition that arrived the next day. Later, she drove her brother to a storage facility about five miles from the high school.

She told police she “knew something was going to happen.”

On October 24, shots rang out as Harris entered his former high school.

It is unclear why Harris targeted the school. A security guard called him somewhat popular and, according to the investigative report, the principal of his primary school said he was not bullied. But when he shot at a dance class, a student told police she heard someone yelling, “I hate this school.” I hate everyone.”

Mortally injured, Alexzandria Bell initially ran to the entrance before falling to the ground as a security officer reassured the 10th grader that help was on the way. But then she became silent.

One class jumped out the window to escape after their physical education teacher, 61-year-old Jean Kuczka, stood between them and Harris. Kuckza was killed.

Harris eventually made his way to the third floor, hiding in a computer room. The first officer to rush into the lab had a daughter at school.

“I had everything to lose,” the officer, who was among those who opened fire, recalled in the police report. He then texted his daughter and told her, “I killed him.”

Harris’ sister told investigators that when she heard about the shooting, she drove toward the school, but instead went home and woke up her mother who had been working overnight.

Harris’ mother later checked her voicemail. A message came from a hospital asking if she needed any help with her son.