Family pleaded to have assault rifle seized before deadly school shooting. Officers had few options

Orlando Harris’ family pleaded with Missouri police to confiscate the 19-year-old’s bullet-proof vest, ammunition and AR-15-style rifle. They knew his mental health was fragile after more than one suicide attempt. But the best officers could do in a state with some of the most expansive gun rights is suggest Harris keep the weapon in a storage unit.

Nine days later, Harris entered his former St. Louis high school and declared, “All of you are going to die.”

A new 456-page police report details the efforts Harris' family took to try to take his gun away in the days before he walked into Central Visual Arts and Performing Arts High School on Oct. 24, 2022, when he killed a student and a teacher and wounded seven others before he was fatally shot by police.

Missouri is not among the 21 states with a red-flag law. Also known as extreme risk protection orders, red-flag laws are intended to restrict the purchase of guns or temporarily remove them from people who may hurt themselves or someone else.