Law enforcement sources indicate the Midland-Odessa, Texas, shooter previously failed a background check for mental reasons.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) noted that the gunman had “previously failed a gun purchase background check.” At that time it was unknown how the gunman acquired the firearm he used in his attack.
On Tuesday, CBS DFW reported that the shooter acquired his gun privately “to evade the background check where he would have been flagged.”
Now CNN’s Jim Sciutto reports that law enforcement sources said the gunman failed that previous background check because “he was adjudicated ‘a mental defective,'” and at some point was “temporarily committed to an institution in McLennan County, Texas.”
CBS DFW reported that the private seller may face federal charges if he knew the gunman had already failed a background check.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.