A judge has ruled that a University of Central Florida student who idolized mass shooters will be allowed to purchase guns.
Judge Bob Leblanc lifted a temporary ban Monday in Orlando preventing 21-year-old Christian Nicholas Velasquez or owning firearms, The Sun-Sentinel reports.
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In early March, Orlando police used Florida’s new gun legislation, which was passed after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to temporarily ban Velasquez from purchasing or owning any weapons or ammunition. City attorneys sought to extend the ban to a year, making the 21-year-old the first person the police department had sought to obtain a “risk protection order,” which allows authorities to seize firearms from people deemed mentally ill or who present a threat to themselves or others.
“I don’t disagree with the issuing of the initial temporary injunction. I think that’s exactly what the statute provides for,” LeBlanc said, though the judge declined to extend the ban.
“He’s following the trajectory…This statute is not designed for someone who’s already gone over the top. It’s designed to stop them before they get there,” the city’s attorney, Alexander Kadren, said of the judge’s ruling, adding that a psychological evaluation of Velasquez placed him on step three of five steps of progression toward committing violence.
Velasquez originally came under investigation after University of Central Florida Police Officer Jeffrey Panter received reports from the school community that the 21-year-old, who went by the username “TheRealUCFChris” on Reddit, was calling Parkland, Florida shooter Nickolas Cruz and Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock heroes.
During an interview, Velasquez reportedly told authorities that he would likely carry out any possible attack at either his former middle or high school, where he alleged he was bullied. He claimed that it would take a tragic life event, such as a break up or being fired from a job, to provoke him to carry out an attack.
Following the interview, Velasquez was taken to a mental health facility to be evaluated. The doctor who evaluated him deemed that he was not a threat.
Velasquez’s lawyer, Kendra Parris, argued that the 21-year-old was being punished for exercising his First Amendment right. She also claimed that he got online and “acted like a jerk” on a forum that is “notoriously vulgar.” She also pointed to his interview with police, in which he said that he regretted his comments, did not think before he typed, and “wanted to look like a badass on Reddit.”
Velasquez’s family reportedly plans to take legal action against the police department for their handling of the case.
