Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Gendron had no further contact with law enforcement after a mental health evaluation that put him in a hospital for a day and a half.
“Nobody called in,” he said. “Nobody called any complaints,” Gramaglia said. The threat was “general” in nature, he said, and not related to race.
New York is one of several states that have
enacted “red flag” laws in recent years that were intended to try and prevent mass shootings committed by people who show warning signs that they might be a threat to themselves or others.
Those laws allow law enforcement officers, a person’s family, or in some cases, medical professionals or school officials to petition courts to temporarily seize a troubled person’s firearms, or prevent them from buying guns.
Federal law bars people from owning a gun if a judge has determined they have a “mental defect” or they have been forced into a mental institution — but an evaluation alone would not trigger the prohibition.
It is unclear whether officials could have invoked “red flag” legislation after the incident at Susquehanna Valley High School. Police and prosecutors wouldn’t provide details on the incident, or say when Gendron had purchased the weapons used in the assault.