El Paso memorial
People leave flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Walmart, near the scene of a mass shooting which left at least 20 people dead, on August 4, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. A 21-year-old male suspect was taken into custody in the city which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. At least 26 people were wounded. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The mother of the suspected El Paso shooter called police ahead of the shooting over her son’s purchase and ownership of a gun.

According the report, the Patrick Crusius’ mother reached out to the Allen Police Department in Texas weeks before the shooting after he had purchased an “AK”-type firearm. She expressed her concerns over his maturity and lack of experience when it came to handling guns, especially a rifle like the one he had.

After explaining her concerns, she was transferred to a public safety officer who explained that because her son was 21 and the situation she described, Crusius was legally allowed to purchase the weapon. And according to the family’s lawyers, the police didn’t inquire further into the situation or the family itself.

On the other hand, Allen police provided no reports about the alleged call and only spoke on three minor incidents with Crusius. The statement explained the only interactions police had with him were a false alarm for burglary at the family home, Crusius being on a bus involved in a minor car accident, and that he disappeared from his home for 30 minutes.

That said, the family’s attorneys also explained that the call was not made out of fear Crusius might commit any such act like what happened in El Paso.

“This was not a volatile, explosive, erratic behaving kid,” family attorney Chris Ayers said. “It's not like alarm bells were going off.”

He also said that the call was not confrontational in anyway and that the mother was forthcoming with any questions asked by officers when she called.

Crusius is currently being held the El Paso County Detention Facility without bond on charges of capital murder and District Attorney Jaime Esparza revealed his office will be seeking the death penalty. US Attorney John Bash also revealed the Justice Department is “seriously considering” charging Crusius for federal firearm and federal hate crimes.

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