Suspect Showed Troubling Signs Before Philadelphia Rampage, D.A. Says
At a news conference in the afternoon, prosecutors said that people who lived with Mr. Carriker had told investigators that he had been “exhibiting abnormal behavior” and “getting more and more agitated” in recent days, even wearing his bulletproof vest around the house. A search of his home, said Robert Wainwright, an assistant district attorney, turned up a will that Mr. Carriker had written, dated June 23. Mr. Wainwright did not say what was in the will.
The authorities said that when Mr. Carriker was arrested he had an AR-15-style rifle and a so-called ghost gun, made from untraceable parts, though investigators had yet to determine how he obtained the firearms.
Prosecutors said the ghost gun was not fired during the shooting, and that a handgun and ammunition were found during the search of Mr. Carriker’s home. Mr. Carriker did not have a license to possess guns, prosecutors said.
Mr. Wainwright said at least one of the seven people who shared a house with Mr. Carriker had recognized that he was becoming more disturbed. But another prosecutor, Joanne Pescatore, said “their way of dealing with it was just to avoid it and not interfere with him.”
Pennsylvania does not have a “red flag” law, which allows families or law enforcement to seek a court order temporarily seizing guns from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. But officials encouraged people to report troubling behavior anyway, suggesting that Mr. Carriker might have gotten help had the authorities known of his behavior. After a 2004 misdemeanor conviction for carrying a gun without a license, Mr. Carriker had apparently spent his life largely off the radar of local law enforcement.
Source: The New York Times
