New York’s red flag law allows courts to issue an extreme risk protection order that temporarily prevents people who pose a threat to themselves or others from buying or possessing firearms.
Kathy Hochul on Monday said she is investigating whether the state's red flag law had any connection to the gunman. Should ‘red flag’ law have barred Buffalo shooting suspect from buying firearms?Īmid news that the shooting comes a year after the suspect was taken to a hospital for mental health treatment for threats involving his high school, Gov. Two weeks after that, he rode in the school's senior parade, where he sat atop a convertible decorated with balloons and signs saying "Congratulations."Ībout a year later, authorities say he went on a violent, racist rampage that left 10 people dead. In the last days of suspect Payton Gendron’s senior year of high school last spring, he was asked a question for an economics class virtual learning program, the Associated Press reported: "What do you plan to do when you retire?"ĭespite telling school officials it was just a joke, the teen was questioned by state police and underwent psychiatric evaluation at a hospital.