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CPD chief Eliot Isaac takes stock and identifies a suspect in the Cincinnati shootings.
Kareem Elgazzar, [email protected]

Police are investigating the scene after a shootout that took place on September 5 in downtown Cincinnati, downtown Cincinnati. Four people died, including the gunman and several others injured after an "active shooter" situation in downtown Cincinnati, at Fountain Square Fifth Third.
(Photo: Albert Cesare)

CINCINNATI – How the man accused of firing three shots in downtown Cincinnati Thursday anyone with a history of petty crime – and possible mental health problems – legally buying a firearm in Ohio?

Omar Santa Perez, 29, shot dead three people and wounded two others before being shot dead by police on Thursday morning at the headquarters of the Fifth Bank in Fountain Square.

Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said Thursday that the 9mm semi-automatic pistol "appears to have been legally purchased".

No evidence has yet been adduced to suggest that Santa Claus should have been banned from possessing a firearm under federal or state laws.

Police examine Santa's mental health. No specific diagnosis has been reported so far. Santa sued CNBC and TD Ameritrade in 2017, but one judge dismissed her complaint as "disjointed, difficult to decipher and delusional".

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In 2014, during an arrest in South Carolina, the officer found Santa Claus lying on the floor and smoking a cigar in front of a company that had fired him.

"The suspect seemed upset and disoriented.When I would ask questions to the suspect but that he would respond with strange answers, the suspect mumbled something about the war and the economy, but most have he was upset that he was fired.

This is how Santa Claus could have obtained a firearm legally.

First and foremost, Ohio and federal laws do not prohibit people with mental health problems from owning a firearm. They are only prohibited if a judge considers them to have a mental health problem or sends them to a mental health facility.

Omar Santa Perez (Photo: provided)

In these cases, the judge must report the person to the National Criminal Screening System or NICS. This system is checked whenever a person buys a firearm.

Why not report all people with mental health issues? The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that one in five adults in the United States suffers from mental illness in a given year. That makes a lot of people, most of whom would say that they can safely use guns to protect themselves or to play sports.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, Republican and Democrat, suggested adding a "red flag" law in Ohio. The law, which was passed in Florida after the murder of Parkland High School, would allow parents or police to ask a judge to temporarily remove firearms from a person they fear would represent a crime. danger for others.

This proposal encourages GOP lawmakers to worry about the unnecessary seizure of firearms.

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There is also no evidence so far that a "red flag" law would have helped Cincinnati. The gunman's aunt, Yudy Martinez Perez, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that she did not know why her godson would commit such a devastating crime. And Santa's only interaction with the police here seems to be a traffic violation in 2015 for driving with an expired license plate.

In February 2017, President Donald Trump overturned a settlement of the Obama era demanding that the Social Security Administration disclose the names of people unable to manage their finances due to a health problem NICS. This would have prevented some people with mental health problems from obtaining a firearm, but it is unlikely that Santa Claus was one.

Secondly, not all crimes allow a person to obtain a firearm.

Under Ohio law, a person is prohibited from buying or possessing a weapon if he is charged with or convicted of a crime involving violence, drug use or the sale of drugs.

Under federal law, a person is prohibited from having a firearm if he is convicted of most crimes punishable by more than one year in prison. Individuals convicted of domestic violence (even a first offense) are also prohibited from obtaining a firearm.

Santa's record includes several low-level offenses: entry or refusal to leave Greenville, South Carolina; possession of marijuana in Palm Beach, Florida; traffic violations in Lake Worth, Florida; traffic violations in Deerfield Beach, Florida; Disorganized driving in Coconut Creek, Florida, in addition to the traffic violation in Cincinnati in 2015.

If none of these crimes had reached the level of a crime, it would not have been prohibited to obtain a firearm.

Collaborators: James Pilcher, Cameron Knight, Mark Curnutte, Terry DeMio, Sarah Brookbank, Max Londberg and Sheila Vilvens, The Cincinnati Enquirer. Follow Jessie Balmert on Twitter: @jbalmert

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