Katz Bought Gun in Maryland; State Has Some of Strictest Gun Control Laws in US
The man who killed two people in Jacksonville, Florida before killing himself purchased his guns in Maryland, officials said Monday, ending speculation that the gun was purchased where the shootings took place.
David Katz of Baltimore recently purchased a 9 mm pistol and .45-caliber handgun, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said Monday. Only one weapon was used in the attack, in which Katz shot 12 people, killing two, before he turned the gun on himself, CBS reported.
One gun had laser sight attached, Williams said. Video of the incident shows a pink dot on the chest of one victim as the shooting began.
Initial reports had implied that Katz obtained his weapon in Florida, where gun laws are different form those in Maryland.
A quick review of the facts:
-Gun was purchased legally in *Baltimore* which renders this entire tweet pointless pic.twitter.com/ttjERK5htq
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 27, 2018
As reported by The Daily Caller, the Giffords Law Center said that in Maryland, the state “prohibits any person from purchasing more than one handgun or assault weapon within a 30-day period.” This would appear to imply that Katz bought his guns over a period of time preceding the shootings.
Maryland is also among those states in which family members can bring a gun owner into court requesting that a judge take away an individual’s gun because he or she poses a risk to himself or herself as well as others.
“In accordance with the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, individuals who are voluntarily admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility (either state, private or acute general), for a period of 30 consecutive days or more, or involuntarily certified and retained by an Administrative Law Judge may have to surrender their firearms and will be prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm unless an individual is granted relief from firearm disqualification,” according to the Maryland State Police.
Katz had been hospitalized for mental illness, according to a report from WIBW.
Maryland has the strictest of gun control laws. Ban on assault weopons, magazine limits, age limits, 30 day waiting period, federal background checks. Florida shooter Katz passed all these. Not one mention of… https://t.co/WUpoSFDmsY
— brent w burleson (@brentwburleson) August 28, 2018
I am ALL for tightening Gun Laws, even thou I come from a ‘hunting & competitive shooting family’; HOWEVER, as someone who has suffered mental health issues-our juvenile records ARE OFF LIMITS 4 a reason!!! #GunLaws #MassShootings #Jacksonville #Katz #Maryland #JuvenileRecords
— Ashley (@AsH_NiCoLe_87) August 28, 2018
As an investigation of Katz began, The Baltimore Sun reported that court records from 2010, when Katz’s parents were going through a divorce, showed Katz to have mental health issues.
“David would go days without bathing, would play video games until 4 a.m. on school nights, would walk around the house in circles,” Howard County Circuit Judge Lenore Gelfman wrote in 2010, the newspaper reported. “(He) was failing all classes at Hammond High, was unresponsive to school teachers and uncooperative with school psychotherapists/counselors, and was extremely hostile toward his mother.”
During the court hearing, Elizabeth Katz testified that her son once punched a hole through her bedroom door to get video game controllers she had taken away.
The Sun noted that a psychologist who dealt with Katz as a boy said there was a chance he could become violent.
“There is the potential that David could lash out and become so angry that he would hit and hurt his mother,” Dr. Paul Berman said.
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