The Texas Department of Public Safety says the gunman who killed 19 children and two adults at a school in Uvalde this week had bought his weapons legally. DPS says Salvador Ramos, 18, bought two "AR-style rifles" at a licensed shop May 17 and 20. Texas law allows people between the ages of 18 and 21 to buy rifles.
"He passed that background check as he had no criminal history or gang affiliation, so he legally purchased two long rifles," says Lawyer Richard Hayes, who is not involved with the case.
Hayes has worked with state lawmakers on self-defense and weapons laws. He says laws allowing for armed staff at schools to work as marshals and expand access to mental health care for students had bi-partisan support after the shooting at Santa Fe High School in 2018. He says this shooting may lead to calls for a review of other laws.
"This is an absolute act of evil," Hayes says. "It leaves a lot of people scratching their heads, wondering how and why did we get here?"
Hayes says, while Texas has looser regulations than federal laws, since the gunman bought rifles from a licensed dealer, he would have had to pass federal background checks. Hayes questions why, in a town of just 15,000 people, no one had previously raised a concern about the gunman's mental health.
"There were a lot of warning signs and, seemingly, no one acting on those warnings, a lot of alarm bells going off but no action," he says.
In 2013, a study by the CDC found 61% of gun deaths in the United States between 2000 and 2010 were suicides; the study found guns were used in self-defense between 500,000 and three million times a year compared to 300,000 crimes committed using guns in 2008.
"You hear, 'gun, gun, gun,' and the gun is the problem, but it's a culture problem. It's a crime problem," Hayes says.
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