Background check blocked gun sale to St. Louis shooter

ST. LOUIS — The 19-year-old gunman who forced his way into a St. Louis school and killed two people on Oct. 24 purchased the Ar-15-style rifle from a private seller after an FBI background check stopped him from buying a weapon from a licensed dealer, police said Thursday.

Orlando Harris tried to buy a firearm from a licensed dealer in nearby St. Charles, Mo., on Oct. 8, St. Louis police said in a news release Thursday evening. An FBI background check “successfully blocked this sale,” police said, though they didn’t say why the sale was blocked. A message seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.

Harris then bought the rifle used in the school shooting on Monday at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School from a private seller, police said.

Police noted in the release that Missouri does not have a red-flag law aimed at keeping firearms away from people who may be a danger to themselves or others. As a result, police “did not have clear authority to temporarily seize the rifle when they responded to the suspect’s home when called by the suspect’s mother .... ”

Police on Wednesday said Harris’ mother called police on the evening of Oct. 15 after she found a gun and wanted it removed. The statement said someone known to the family was contacted and took possession of it. Somehow, Harris got the gun back. How that happened is under investigation.

Police responded within minutes after being called Monday morning. Officers confronted and killed the gunman, who graduated from the school last year. He had around 600 rounds of ammunition with him.

Tenth-grader Alexzandria Bell and teacher Jean Kuczka were killed in the attack, and seven 15- and 16-yearolds were wounded. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

Harris’ mother was “heartbroken” by the shooting, Police Commissioner Michael Sack said. She had long dealt with Harris’ mental health issues and even had him committed at times, Sack said at a news conference on Wednesday.