CNN:
Last November, Oklahoma City police officers went to check on an elderly woman after relatives reported they hadn’t heard from her in a while.
At 77, Janet Hume was living with her adult son, Gerald, who the family said was schizophrenic. Since she typically kept in close contact with relatives, police decided to investigate.
They visited the Hume home on three occasions. Each time, her son refused to let them inside, insisting “everything was OK,” according to a police affidavit.
But it was far from it.
What police eventually discovered instead was a horrendous case that underscores how little the country’s current gun laws can do to stop a mentally ill person from buying a gun — even if, like Gerald Hume, they have a documented history of violence.Before their third visit, detectives talked with one of Janet Hume’s friends, who gave them troubling news.
“Janet Hume told her that Gerald has recently bought several guns,” according to the police affidavit, which was seeking a search warrant for the Hume home.That third time police went to check on Janet Hume, all hell broke loose.
