7/10/23  According to his roommates, Kimbrady Carriker routinely wore an armored vest and was agitated and acting abnormally in the days before he opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia’s distressed Kingsessing neighborhood. Their solution was to keep out of his way. While attired in his vest, Carriker had also recently introduced himself as a “town watchman” to a neighbor. Pennsylvania does not presently have a “Red Flag Law”; a bill to bring one into effect is pending in the Senate.

5/22/23  California’s new CARE Court system will focus on persons at least 18 years old who suffer from schizophrenia or another psychosis. Referrals can come from a variety of sources, including families, first responders and social service agencies. Participants will be assigned public defenders, and judges can impose treatment plans lasting up to two years. Medication can be refused, but failure to successfully exit a treatment plan can lead to involuntary commitment. (See 4/10/23 update) CARE Court fact sheet

4/12/23  California’s “Armed and Prohibited Persons” system identifies persons who lawfully purchased a gun in the State but later became unqualified to possess firearms due to a felony conviction or other reason. State agents then endeavor to seize the firearms. In 2022 agents contacted about 24,000 persons and retrieved 1,437 firearms, including “712 handguns, 360 rifles, 194 shotguns, 80 assault weapons, 54 ghost guns, 43 receivers or frames, 3 short-barreled shotguns, and 1 machine gun.

4/10/23  California’s move into deinstitutionalization came in 1967 with passage of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, which set a high bar for the detention and involuntary treatment of the mentally ill. Its alleged failure to provide due care is addressed by new legislation that would broaden “gravely disabled” to include persons with a mental or substance abuse disorder that impairs their safety and well-being. However, it’s drawn opposition from advocacy groups and its prospects are uncertain. Senate Bill 43 (See 5/22/23 update)

2/15/23  Anthony McRae, the Michigan State University shooter, used a gun he bought to replace a gun he surrendered three years ago as part of a plea-bargain for carrying it, loaded, in a vehicle. Instead of felony concealed carry, he was allowed to plead to a misdemeanor, so he was not prohibited from having weapons. According to his father, McRae, who was unemployed and suffered from mental problems, lied to him when he denied getting acquiring a replacement gun and shooting it in their backyard. But his father had found bullet casings. He now says that “he wished he had gotten help for his son.”

12/23/22  Los Angeles County has been referring youths who are first-time offenders and charged with minor crimes to EIDP, an early-intervention program that offers specialized services that address mental and physical health, substance abuse, learning disabilities, and family-related issues. Progress is overseen by case managers, and successful completion of the program leads to dismissal of the charges. A recent review by NIJ found its results “promising.”

11/19/22  A search of the dorm room assigned to University of Virginia shooter Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. turned up both guns that he (legally) purchased: a Ruger .223 caliber semi-auto rifle and a Smith and Wesson 9mm. pistol. Police also found a Franklin Armory “binary trigger,” which doubles a rifle’s rate of fire by discharging a round when the trigger is released. (It’s Federally legal but has been outlawed by a number of States, not including Illinois.) UVA regulations prohibit guns in residence halls.

11/17/22  In September the University of Virginia was tipped off that Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., the student who recently opened fire at the end of a field trip, killing three students and wounding two, had a gun on campus. Although neither the tipster nor Jones’ roommate said they saw a gun, it was learned that in 2021 Jones was convicted of concealed carry. It also turns out that a gun dealer had rebuffed Jones’ attempt to buy a gun because he had a pending felony charge. But the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and this year he sold Jones a rifle and a 9mm. pistol. All this has left victim families and others wondering why authorities didn’t pursue their inquiries with more vigor.

9/26/22  A Fresno, Calif. man put a gun to his head and threatened to commit suicide and kill any police who approached. He was in his own home, and posed no immediate threat to others. So the officers left. With nearly one in four police shootings involving the mentally ill, “tactical disengagement” is being adopted by police across the U.S. Some agencies try to send in  mental health professionals. But if there’s resistance to offers of help and innocents aren’t clearly at risk, everyone simply leaves.

9/2/22  Despite fervent opposition from the ACLU and other rights advocates, California legislators overwhelmingly approved Governor Kevin Newsom’s “CARE Court” proposal. Designed to help homeless persons who are mentally ill and have drug problems but reject care, it would empower families and first responders to seek court orders that would compel persons to accept housing, medical and mental health services they provably need. Sixty-three million dollars to fund CARE courts is part of the package.

8/29/22  Last October LAPD officers shot and killed two mentally-ill persons one day apart. Evelyn Del Real was shot by a police sniper who observed her swinging a knife at her child, whom she had already stabbed. One day later an officer killed Grisha Alaverdyan after he stabbed a woman on the street, then advanced on him. Del Real and Alaverdyan had been previously assessed by police mental health teams. L.A.P.D.’s civilian police commission cleared the officers, and Chief Michel Moore agreed. But he was troubled about the second incident, as the cop’s partner had simultaneously discharged a beanbag round.

8/13/22  A 37-year old Texas-based traveling nurse who by all appearances deliberately sped into a Los Angeles intersection against a red light, causing a multi-vehicle crash that killed five and injured eight, had been previously involved in thirteen collisions. Prosecutors say there is no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved and charged her with murder. Nicole Lorraine Linton’s lawyer, though, has brought up “documented profound mental health issues.”

7/16/22  In 2019 UC Irvine police discovered that student Sebastian Dumbrava was posting threats on social media to shoot up the campus. He wound up on a three-day psychiatric hold. But the threats then resumed, and Dumbrava acquired guns and ammunition, which his mental condition barred. That earned him seven months in prison. But on release he didn’t comply with probation, kept posting threats, and demanded $50,000 from the State. So “for now” he’s back in custody. And, yes, the campus worries.

6/24/22  During the span of a few hours, Los Angeles police repeatedly responded to calls about a deranged man who was hopping into backyards and acting threateningly. Officers encountered and spoke with the man several times. Each time they let him go and reassured residents that all was o.k. Then the intruder broke into a bedroom, stabbed a resident dead, then killed himself. A lawsuit has been filed.

6/22/22  Shootings recently took the lives of two D.C. teens. One, fifteen, was packing a gun. He had twice been wounded by gunfire in the past. In a separate incident, a sixteen-year old who was recently arrested with a gun was also shot and killed. His mother said she asked he be put on GPS monitoring but was told that was only for dangerous persons. Mayor Bowser’s new “People of Promise” initiative seeks to identify D.C. residents who are “most at risk of committing or being victimized by violent crime” and  provide preventive services. These youths, the columnist feels, would have made excellent candidates.

6/9/22  According to a 2018 Secret Service report, early intervention is key to preventing school violence. But its 2019 study of 41 episodes found that although most plotters had leaked their intentions verbally, in writing or otherwise, their warnings weren’t heeded. Peers, says a 2021 Secret Service report, are best positioned to know, but may not take the messages seriously, or may be afraid or reluctant to snitch. It’s up to parents, says the Washington Post, to get their kids to drop the “code of silence” and open up.

5/24/22  Illinois man Jeffrey Reinking was convicted in State court of returning guns to his son, Travis Reinking, 29, after the latter’s firearms I.D. card was revoked because of his hospitalization for mental illness. Travis Reinking used one of these guns, an AR-15 assault rifle, to storm a Waffle House restaurant in Peoria four years ago, killing four. He was disarmed by a customer after the weapon jammed. Travis Reinking was convicted of murder and drew life without parole.

5/13/22  A 14-year old girl who had cycled through Florida’s mental health system for years and a deeply troubled 12-year old boy ran off from a group home and broke into a large residence. Inside they found an assortment of guns and ammunition. Gathering the weapons, they began firing. A protracted shootout with deputies followed. The girl was wounded but recovered. Both youths face attempted murder charges; the girl, who is being prosecuted as an adult, will likely be sentenced to prison.

5/11/22  Four Illinois cities – Peoria, Springfield, East St. Louis and Waukegan – will be receiving State funds to implement “co-responder” programs that partner social workers with police, creating teams that respond to mental-health emergencies and offer solutions other than arrest. Peoria’s police chief praises the initiative as part of a “new era of policing.” Chicago began a similar program last year.

4/23/22  A lawsuit accuses Los Angeles police and social workers of ignoring repeated warnings that Liliana Carrillo, whom her estranged husband said suffered from “postpartum depression, anger and childhood trauma,” posed an imminent risk to her three children, ages 6 months, 2 and 3 years. Carillo admitted drowning them last year. A judge’s order to remove them from her custody was ignored, and authorities reportedly failed to share information and act despite numerous instances of odd behavior.

4/20/22  A homeless New York City man who shoved a commuter into an approaching subway train in January was declared unfit to stand trial for her murder. Martial Simon, 61, a long-time schizophrenic, will stay locked up in a psychiatric ward. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan for a CARE Court system that would accept referrals from family members and others about persons with severe mental health issues is being opposed by civil libertarians, who call it “legally misguided and immoral.”

4/14/22  NYPD officers arrested reputed subway shooter Frank James after he called and tipped them of his whereabouts. According to the New York Times, his recent YouTube videos described a planned journey by van to “the danger zone.” One day before the attack, James said he wanted to kill and “watch people die,” but had been dissuaded by thoughts of being imprisoned. New Jersey once charged him with “making terroristic threats”; he was convicted of a lesser charge, harassment and given probation. James received extensive mental health counseling over the years but claimed it made him worse.

4/13/22  Frank James, 62, is the man whom authorities believe threw smoke bombs and opened fire in a Brooklyn subway car during the April 12 morning commute, wounding ten. A Glock pistol and a credit card in his name that he used to rent the U-Haul he drove and later abandoned were found at the scene. James, who has lived in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, remains at large. Billing himself as “prophetoftruth88” he has posted many YouTube rants about race and violence. One of his recent videos criticizes the Mayor for suggesting that removing the homeless would improve subway safety.

4/11/22  Journalist Mark Follman’s new book, “Trigger Points,” argues that “behavioral threat assessment,” an emerging preventive approach that has been adopted by schools in more than a dozen States, can reduce the incidence of mass shootings. Trained employees watch for “warning behaviors” including threats, aggressive behaviors and an unusual interest in shootings. They listen closely for concerns from family and friends. Specialized “threat teams” that include behavioral specialists visit homes, determine the access to firearms, and provide personalized counseling to troubled individuals.

3/17/22  A Virginia man has been arrested for shooting three homeless persons in D.C., killing one. Gerald Brevard III, 30, is also suspected of shooting two homeless persons in New York City, where one died. Bullet casings from both cities match to the same gun. Brevard was found incompetent to stand trial for attempted assault with a deadly weapon three years ago. He later drew a year in prison but the  term was suspended. Brevard’s father faults a system that failed to treat his son’s mental illness. A major piece in the NY Times reported that Brevard and those he killed were chronically mentally ill.

One-hundred twenty seven point-five million. That’s what the Department of Justice has agreed to pay to settle more than forty lawsuits filed in connection with the 2018 massacre by Nikolas Cruz at Marjorie Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida. A tip called in to the FBI five weeks earlier warned that Cruz, who had been expelled from the school for his behavior, had bought guns and intended to “slip into a school and start shooting the place up.” But it was never passed on.

3/4/22  Dismayed by persons “with their clothes off defecating and urinating in the middle of the streets, screaming and talking to themselves,” Calif. Gov. Edwin Newsom proposed a program, to be enforced by civil “CARE Courts,” that would compel individuals in severe distress to accept care, and if necessary, housing, in a community mental health facility. A similar approach for criminal defendants is in place in Santa Clara County. Newsom has proposed to spend billions to finance the effort.

11/25/21  In August 2020, “after numerous policy violations and conduct issues,” Kansas City police fired Det. Lionel Womack, a 13-year veteran. Within days he tangled with Sheriff’s deputies when, supposedly from fear, he ran away during a traffic stop. (Womack was injured and sued.) On November 22 a 9-1-1 caller reported that Womack was “standing in a road pointing at the sky and trying to jump in front of traffic.” During a violent encounter with his former colleagues, Womack took away an officer’s gun, jumped behind the wheel of the patrol car, and was shot dead by the cop’s partner. In May 2022 the shooting was ruled justified.

6/22/21  An L.A. Times op-ed opposes a proposal that Homeland Security underwrite efforts by community groups, universities and law enforcement to identify potentially dangerous individuals and refer them to treatment before they strike. According to Harsha Panduranga, counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, “mental health issues, having trouble at home or in relationships, having a political or personal ‘grievance’ - are shared by millions.” Using these to identify potentially violent persons, Panduranga argues, will increase bias against Muslims and persons of color and lead to more abuses.

5/1/2021  “They were just kind of giving us a heads up, ‘This is what he’s thinking about doing.’” That’s how North Carolina Sheriff Len Hagamana characterized recent warnings about Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, a well-armed resident of Boone whom neighbors feared was getting set to explode. But nothing was done, and on April 28 he did. Barnes’ shooting rampage took the lives of his mother and stepfather and two deputies. He committed suicide.

3/25/21  During an argument with his wife a Rhode Island man brought out a gun and asked her to shoot him. She fled and returned the next day with police. While the man agreed to go in for an evaluation, he didn’t consent to have two guns seized. But police did so after he left, and only returned them months later when pressed by his lawyer. He sued over the warrantless search, but Federal courts upheld it under the “community caretaking” exception, which has been applied to vehicles. Whether it extends to one’s home will now be decided by the Supreme Court. (Caniglia v. Strom, no. 20-157.)

2/10/21  A mentally troubled rural Minnesota man who was under a restraining order for threatening to blow up a hospital in 2018 surrendered after using a handgun to shoot up a rural clinic, killing one and wounding four. Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67 also set several explosive devices, which did not detonate. Long known as a troublemaker by other residents and police, Ulrich was reportedly upset that doctors refused to continue prescribing pain medication to which he had apparently become addicted. In May 2022 a jury convicted Ulrich of murder; he faces a mandatory term of life without parole.

1/21/21  A Chicago man who had posted numerous “disturbing” videos on Facebook, including rants in which “he brandished a gun” and “threatened to ‘blow up the whole community’” went on a shooting spree on January 9. Jason Nightengale, 32, apparently chose his victims randomly. By the time he was shot dead by Evanston police three were dead and four were wounded. A fourth victim has since died.

11/29/20  In response to objections by activists who demand police keep away from responses to mentally troubled persons, Chicago will be deploying two kinds of crisis intervention teams in 2021. One will, as previously planned, include two experts and one officer. But the city will also deploy teams of “clinicians and paramedics” modeled after “Cahoots” that do not include police. Both approaches will be implemented next year.

11/25/20  On January 11, 2020 an LAPD Sergeant responding to 9-1-1 calls about a man “waving” a gun spotted Victor Valencia, 31, holding what seemed to be a handgun. When Valencia pointed it at him the officer shot Valencia dead. His object turned out to be a bicycle part, which a witness to the encounter said looked like a gun. Valencia reportedly suffered from depression and was mentally ill. On November 24 the Sergeant’s actions were ruled justified. LAPD account

11/17/20  Beset by troubling encounters between police and persons in mental distress, Chicago is considering deploying CIT teams that include two experts and one officer. But objections have been raised as to why cops should be included at all. “I think it’s an emergency to get police out of the mental health response” said an Alderman. A mother whose mentally ill daughter was recently Tasered agrees. But she also wants “a health care system that supports people before they are in crisis.”

11/15/20  An NPR report claims that “crisis intervention teams are failing.” Problems are attributed to response models that include clinical workers but are nonetheless managed by police, who consider persons in crisis as inherently dangerous. “Cahoots” is identified as an approach that helps debunk that notion. CIT’s are also “no replacement for an adequate mental health care system in a community.”

10/15/20  A member’s view that “calling the police on George Floyd about an alleged counterfeit $20 bill ended his life" heped propel the L.A. City Council to unanimously pass a proposal to create unarmed civilian mental health teams that would respond to “nonviolent” 911 calls instead of police. According to the council’s President, the move would “save lives” and free up officers to handle violent crime. That overall approach, according to CNN, has found favor elsewhere in situations where no violence or crime are involved.

9/9/20  Seven Fort Hood soldiers have been murdered since January 2016, and seventy-one have committed suicide. Authorities attribute the grisly toll to  emotional problems, harassment and bullying. A 2009 study suggested various factors, including prior drug and alcohol abuse, involvement in crime and combat experience.

6/26/20  Santa Cruz, Calif., an early adapter of Predictive Policing, has banned it because it biases police attention towards areas populated by persons of color. Its use was suspended by a new police chief in 2017 because doing “purely enforcement” caused inevitable problems with the community. Santa Cruz also banned facial recognition software because of its racially-biased inaccuracies.

12/16/19 BJA released “How to Reduce Repeat Encounters,” a four-step plan designed to help police executives devise and implement management and response strategies for identifying and properly dealing with troubled, repeat users of police services.

12/7/19 CNN has tallied more than twenty shootings on U.S. military bases since 1993. Four have taken place since November 5, 2009, when troubled Fort Hood psychiatrist Nidal Hasan killed thirteen and wounded twenty-eight. Two occurred only this week. On December 4 Gabriel Romero, a U.S. Navy sailor standing guard at Pearl Harbor, opened fire with his issued weapons, killing two and himself. Two days later, Saudi military student Mohammed Alshamrania used a pistol to kill three and wound eight at a Florida base. He was shot and killed by police. Romero was in trouble with the Navy and getting counseling. Alshamrania had reportedly posted hateful tweets and recently gathered friends to watch mass shooting videos.

10/24/19 At the urging of Attorney General William Barr, in December 2019 the FBI will host a national training session to prevent mass shootings. Local and state agencies will be exposed to “proven models” drawn from the war against terror; for example, identifying dangerous, “extremely challenging individuals” and compelling to undergo mental health treatment before they strike.

7/22/19 On May 28 Rhett Nelson, a 28-yr. old Utah man with drug and mental issues left home saying that “he wanted to make it on his own or die.” Police were informed, but although Nelson had a gun, officers didn’t think him suicidal or a threat and closed the case. On July 22 Nelson, under arrest in Los Angeles, was charged with two murders, a murder attempt and two robberies.

2/19/19 The article’s title says it all: “Serial sex criminal who targeted women on buses and trains banned from Metro after 10th conviction.” One year after his ninth conviction for groping and molesting women and children on public transportation, Ager Linder, 27, did it again. Each time, including the present, his conduct was apparently adjudicated as a misdemeanor.

1/25/19 Zephen Xaver, 21, entered a Florida bank, ordered four employees and a customer to lie on the floor, and shot them in the head. All died. As a youth, Xaver’s dreams of taking students hostage led to his referral for treatment. That incident, as well as his recent message about taking hostages and committing “suicide by cop” had come to the attention of police. Xaver recently told a friend that he had bought a handgun.

11/8/18 On 11/7/18 ex-Marine gunner Ian David Long, 28, walked into an L.A.-area bar and opened fire with a legally-bought .45 caliber Glock pistol with an extended magazine. Twelve were killed, including Ventura Co. Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron Elus, who had responded to the scene. Long was though by neighbors to be mentally disturbed. Last April mental health workers called by deputies to the home that Long shares with his mother decided he did not meet the standards to be held.

5/14/18 According to the L.A. Times nine states now have “red flag” laws that authorize courts to order the seizure of guns from persons who are at risk of hurting themselves or others. Five of these laws were passed since the Florida school shooting.

2/16/18 At a bench trial, a judge acquitted NYPD Sgt. Hugh Barry of all charges, including murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide, in the killing of Deborah Danner. Sgt. Barry is still subject to department discipline.

9/10/17 New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board ruled that officer Daniel Pantaleo caused Eric Garner’s death by placing him in a prohibited chokehold. But action against Pantaleo and other officers awaits DOJ’s decision whether to prosecute them for civil rights violations.

6/23/07 James T. Hodgkinson, the shooter at the June 14 Congressional baseball game, had several recent gun-related run-ins, including a dispute where he allegedly struck a man with the butt of a shotgun and fired a round. He was arrested but charges were dropped because the victims didn’t show up in court.

12/3/16 On November 15 a man clearly suffering from long-standing mental problems was “banned for life” from a Tacoma shopping mall for bizarre, hostile behavior. Police found a shotgun in his vehicle and issued an “officer safety bulletin.” Two weeks later he shot and killed a Tacoma officer during a domestic disturbance call. Neither the victim nor other officers who responded to the scene knew that the assailant was the subject of the earlier warning.

7/2/22  Officers attempting to serve an emergency protection order in rural Kentucky were met with a barrage of gunfire as they approached the subject’s home. Six were wounded, three fatally. Lance P. Storz, 49, who allegedly raped the woman who sought the order, was reportedly lying in wait for police with a rifle and other firearms. He eventually surrendered. His town of residence, Allen, Kentucky, is too small to have a police force, so officers from nearby agencies were involved. (Note: Storz committed suicide while jailed.)

5/20/22  A Buffalo 9-1-1 dispatcher with eight years experience has been suspended and faces termination for reportedly hanging up on one of the TOPS employees who called in during the massacre. An assistant office manager said her voice was hushed because she feared being overheard by the shooter. But the dispatcher insisted she speak up, then hung up when she didn’t.  “...Out of nervousness, my phone fell out of my hand, she said something I couldn’t make out, and then the phone hung up.”

1/24/22  On January 21 three NYPD officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from a woman whose 47-year old  son had become violent. What they weren’t told, possibly because the dispatcher didn’t ask, is that Lashawn J. McNeil had a gun - a stolen .45 Glock pistol with a large extended magazine - and a criminal record. When two officers went into the back of the residence to fetch him he emerged and opened fire, mortally wounding rookie officer Jason Rivera, 22, and critically wounding his partner, Wilbert Mora. The third officer, who remained in the front, returned fire and critically wounded the shooter.

7/27/21  In Wasco, a town near Bakersfield, Calif., a 41-year old man armed with an AK-47 style rifle and a handgun opened fire inside his home. Neighbors called deputies and said occupants had been shot. Responding officers were fired on and took cover. Two SWAT members soon approached on foot. The shooter opened fire, reportedly through the windows, fatally wounding Deputy Phillip Campas, 35 and wounding his partner. Two other deputies sustained shrapnel injuries. Deputies shot and killed the assailant as he exited the home. His 42-year old wife and their 17 and 24-year old sons were found inside, all shot dead. A restraining order prohibiting the shooter from having guns was in effect.

8/15/19 A Philadelphia man who had served Federal prison time for being a felon with firearms fired repeated barrages at police serving a narcotics search warrant. Six officers sustained minor wounds. The suspect eventually surrendered. An AR-15 rifle and a handgun were recovered.

8/13/19  On August 12 veteran California Highway Patrol officer Andre Moye, 34, was shot and killed and two colleagues were injured when a convicted felon whom officer Moye pulled over for a traffic violation opened fire with an “AR-15 style” rifle. Their assailant was reportedly a gang member who had served prison time for an armed assault.

10/5/18 A 74-year old veteran and disbarred lawyer who bragged about his abilities with military-style rifles unleashed a barrage from “a high powered rifle” on officers serving a search warrant at his Florence, South Carolina residence. One officer was killed and six were wounded. Five citizens were also hurt. Police deployed an armored vehicle to extricate the injured. More

3/5/18 In the New York Times, an excellent, illustrated feature about the damage inflicted on the human body by ultra high-velocity projectiles such as those fired by AR-15 style rifles.

1/3/18 Douglas County, CO Deputy Zackari Parish was killed and four other deputies were wounded by a mentally troubled veteran and former lawyer who fired “more than 100 rounds” from a rifle before he was shot and killed.

3/19/17 The Cleveland 911 call-taker who failed to alert dispatchers that an armed person in a park was probably a kid with a toy gun was punished with an eight-day suspension. In 2014 12-year old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by a police officer who thought that his air pistol was a real gun.

11/5/16 A troubled middle-aged Iowa man used a .223 rifle to shoot and kill two Iowa police officers, one in Urbandale, the other in nearby Des Moines, during the early morning hours of November 3. Both officers were approached as they sat in their patrol cars, which were riddled with bullets.