CNN’s Kayyem on Louisville Shooter Wanting to Prove It’s Easy to Get Guns: He’s Factually ‘Correct’ — ‘His Motives Might Be Mixed’

On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem commented on reporting from CNN that, according to law enforcement sources, part of the Louisville bank shooter’s “goal was to show how easy it was in America for someone dealing with a serious mental illness to buy an assault-style weapon” by stating that this statement by the shooter is “correct.” And “what he was telling the world before he started his shooting spree ended up being accurate.” But “his motives might be mixed.”

Co-host Jim Scuitto asked, “Law enforcement sources tell CNN the man who killed five people inside a Louisville bank left extensive notes about what he said were his motivations. He claims he wanted to show how easy it is for someone in America with serious mental illness to just go out and buy a gun. We should note, under Kentucky state law, he was only required to fill out an ATF form and undergo a criminal records check. … I don’t want to advertise this person’s own presentation of his reasons for this shooting. But, particularly in a state such as Kentucky, it is true, is it not, that it’s fairly easy to get a weapon, well, under any circumstances, and even if you do have a record of mental health issues?”

Kayyem responded, “That’s exactly right. And he’s correct. I mean, in the end, what he was telling the world before he started his shooting spree ended up being accurate. And it’s a case in which his motives might be mixed. I mean, he might have said one thing in a note. There’s an additional note, and it shows how difficult it is to know why exactly someone wakes up one day and becomes a mass murderer in a mass shooting.”

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