Wagshol mom backs stronger ‘Red Flag’ law
The mother of a Norwalk man facing gun-related charges after police say he showed an interest in mass shootings voiced her support of lawmakers’ efforts to expand the state’s “red flag” firearms law that keeps guns away from those deemed a danger.
Joanne Kirson, the mother of Brandon Wagshol, said in testimony last week that her son was among the rare examples in 2019 that a risk warrant under the current law was used on someone “who posed a credible threat of a mass shooting.”
Kirson’s testimony was given as the legislature’s judiciary committee attempts to expand those who can request such an order to include family or household members, as well as medical professionals. The law now only allows prosecutors and police officers to make the request.
Wagshol, 23, was charged in 2019 after a police investigation revealed he had tried to buy several highcapacity ammunition magazines for a rifle he was building, authorities said.
Wagshol has pleaded not guilty to four counts of illegal possession of large capacity magazines. He remains held on $500,000 bond for a separate case in which police say he assaulted his father with a pipe. He is scheduled to face a Stamford judge next week.
Kirson said following an incident in her home in 2018, she sought to ensure her son could not get his hands on any guns, but was unsuccessful.
“I called the police and he was arrested. I made a victim statement in which I said I wanted to ensure that he’d never have access to firearms. The case was dismissed, and by this time, my ex-husband had guns,” Kirson testified.
In 2019, the FBI received a tip from a family member that Wagshol was trying to buy high-capacity magazines to hold ammunition.
Authorities raided Wagshol’s home, where investigators found a .40 caliber handgun, a .22 caliber rifle, a rifle scope with a laser, four firearm optic sites, a firearm flashlight, body armor with a titanium plate, a full camouflage outfit, a ballistic helmet, tactical gloves, a camouflage bag, and numerous .40 caliber,
.22 caliber and .300 blackout rounds of ammunition, according to court records.
Wagshol was living in his father’s Norwalk apartment, police said.
In a search warrant application, investigators wrote that Wagshol had shown an interest in mass shootings dating back to
2008, when he was in the sixth grade.
In November of that year, investigators said Wagshol threatened to shoot a fellow classmate with his father’s gun, the warrant showed.
“I’ll make Virginia Tech look like nothing,” he muttered under his breath, the warrant said, in a reference to the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech in which 33 people died.
Investigators subsequently found a social media post written by Wagshol that “showed his interest in committing a mass shooting,” according to authorities.
Wagshol told police he went to New Hampshire to “acquire 30-round magazines and ammunition to circumvent what I viewed as an unconstitutional restriction on the Second Amendment,” but said he had no intentions “whatsoever” to commit a mass shooting.
The bill to expand the “red flag” law was met with some resistance from gunrights supporters who feared it could lead to false claims and abuses, the Associated Press reported. The bill remains before the legislature’s judiciary committee.
Kirson, in supporting the legislation, testified: “The case of Brandon Wagshol shows that the law works.”