Saturday, May 19, 2018

Dads were legal owners of guns used by high school sons in recent Texas and Maryland high school shootings. 68% of school shooters use guns from home-Baltimore Sun

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"The [2018 Maryland] case highlights the issue of child access to firearms. She pointed to a 2004 report from the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Education that found that 68 percent of school shooters used a gun from their own home or a relative’s home." The 20 year old Sandy Hook, Ct. school shooter used his mother's legal guns to kill 26 people at the school in Dec. 2012. 

5/18/18, "School shooting suspect had father’s legal guns," AP, Santa Fe, Texas

"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the school shooting suspect used a shotgun and .38-revolver he obtained from his father. At a news conference on Friday, Abbott said both weapons were owned legally by the suspect’s father."...

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Misdemeanor: "Maryland law prohibits a person from leaving a loaded firearm somewhere that the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised child under age 16 could gain access to it. Violators face a misdemeanor charge and a fine of up to $1,000. In the Great Mills shooting, however, Rollins was 17. Pauliukonis said the state law has a “gap” when it comes to older teens." 

3/21/18, "Gun used in Maryland high school shooting was legally owned by shooter's father, sheriff says," Baltimore Sun, Pamela Wood 

"The handgun used in Tuesday’s shooting at Great Mills High School in Southern Maryland was legally owned by the shooter’s father, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, brought a Glock 9-millimeter pistol to the school and opened fire in a hallway at about 7:50 a.m., injuring a 16-year-old girl and striking a 14-year-old boy in the leg, according to the sheriff’s office. A school resource officer quickly responded and fired at Rollins. Rollins fired his gun almost simultaneously.

Rollins died hours later at a hospital. The school resource officer, Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, was not injured.

The 16-year-old victim of Tuesday’s shooting — identified by family as Jaelynn Willey — remained in critical condition Wednesday morning at the University of Maryland Prince George’s Medical Center, according to a hospital spokesman....

The 14-year-old boy — identified as Desmond Barnes — was discharged from MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital on Wednesday, hospital officials confirmed. He was shot in the leg.

The sheriff’s office did not offer further information about the gun, including when and where it was purchased or how Rollins gained access to it.

The sheriff’s office also said Wednesday afternoon that the shooting was not a random act. There’s evidence that Rollins and Willey had “a prior relationship which recently ended,” according to the sheriff’s office....

Jen Pauliukonis, president of the group Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, said the case highlights the issue of child access to firearms. She pointed to a 2004 report from the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Education that found that 68 percent of school shooters used a gun from their own home or a relative’s home....
 
Maryland law prohibits a person from leaving a loaded firearm somewhere that the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised child under age 16 could gain access to it. 

Violators face a misdemeanor charge and a fine of up to $1,000.

In the Great Mills shooting, however, Rollins was 17. Pauliukonis said the state law has a “gap” when it comes to older teens. 

“I think it’s something that Maryland leaders need to evaluate,” she said....

All schools in St. Mary’s County were closed Wednesday because of a snowstorm. Schools will be closed next week for spring break, so Great Mills High is expected to reopen April 2."...



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