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WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey believes there is plenty that can be done to stop acts of gun violence such as the recent mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
And he believes most of America agrees with him that “common sense” gun regulations are a step in the right direction.
“It’s an issue the country is serious about,” Casey said.
Casey made the comment during a visit to the Times Leader on Monday.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, was charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder after he opened fire Wednesday at the high school he was expelled from. According to authorities, Cruz opened fired around 2:40 p.m. and authorities said Cruz had killed 17 people before fleeing the scene after ditching his weapon, magazines and blending in with crowds of students. Cruz was arrested in Coral Springs, a neighboring city a couple of miles from the school, about an hour after walking away from the school.
Casey said the background checking system needs to be updated. And while “law-abiding citizens” shouldn’t worry about their ability to purchase guns, regulations on the sale of guns to some people need to be tightened, saying he would push for a “no-fly, no-buy” rule.
“Even if a person is thought to be a terrorist and can’t get on a plane, they can buy a gun,” Casey said, explaining the current laws.
Since the shooting, there have been reams of reports, replete with one red flag after another, detailing Cruz’s violent descent, events that were mostly dismissed, downplayed or filed away by many of those in society entrusted with recognizing the potential danger that he posed to his family and to his community.
Cruz had been diagnosed with the neurological disorder autism. Michael Alessandri, a clinical professor of psychology at the University of Miami, cautioned that Cruz’s diagnosis of autism should not be viewed as a cause of his attack at Stoneman Douglas High.
“It is a social communication disorder, not a violent disorder,” Alessandri said.
Cruz was treated for depression and attention deficit disorder, and his mother found it increasingly difficult to control his behavior from the time he was an adolescent, despite periodic interventions by mental health counselors and law enforcement authorities, records show.
BSO deputies were summoned to their Parkland home more than 30 times in the past seven years, records show. The complaints ranged from petty domestic disputes to a time Cruz threw a vacuum cleaner at his mom.
In August 2016, DCF records show, Cruz had just broken up with his girlfriend, and got into a fight with another boy. Several students told Buzzfeed News that they reported him to school security and other administrators after he threatened them during a profane exchange over the ex-girlfriend.
Around that time, Cruz drew a Nazi symbol on his book bag and was using hate language. Records show that Broward mental health authorities were worried that his chronic depression was worsening.
While Casey argued that certain gun regulations would “reduce the likelihood” of another mass shooting, he said mental healthcare is another key to the issue, adding that citizens need access to healthcare and medication.
He said Congress needs to start a debate about how the country should move to avoid another mass shooting.
“We should have a debate,” Casey said. “Let’s have votes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.