Why Maryland’s strict gun control laws couldn’t stop the Madden 19 shooter

Some time in the last month, David Katz, 24, legally purchased two handguns from a licensed firearms dealer in his home state of Maryland. He’d later show up, with those same guns, to a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, and kill two of his fellow contestants and wound 10 others before turning the gun on himself. Since former Gov. Martin O’Malley signed an omnibus gun control bill in 2013, Maryland has had some of the toughest gun laws in the country — the sixth strongest, to be specific. To purchase a handgun in Maryland, the “Madden 19 shooter” (as he’s become known) would have first had to complete training and testing to obtain a license issued by the Maryland State Police. And when he bought the gun from a licensed dealer in the Baltimore area, he would have also had to provide his fingerprints. Maryland law also contains a provision on keeping guns out of the hands of those deemed mentally ill. But none of these safeguards stopped Katz from opening fire on the tournament Sunday — despite having a history of mental health issues that resulted in two hospitalizations in psychiatric facilities and frequent encounters with the police. The shooter was hospitalized twice as a teenager in psychiatric facilities: once in 2007 for 12 days, and then again for 13 days, according to the Associated Press . He was also prescribed antidepressant and antipsychotic medications. Some time in the last month, David Katz, 24, legally purchased two […]

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