SAINT PAUL, Minn — A December post on X, formerly known as Twitter, threatening a mass shooting said in part, "I plan to gun up a grocery store, shooting all the young 20-something pretty cashiers and helpers, or better yet, a grocery store."
Court documents show the FBI and Minnesota BCA traced the post to a man named Jerry Sheldon from Maple Lake, who had a history of making terroristic threats but no current restrictions preventing him from possessing firearms.
When investigators searched Sheldon's home, they found books and writings referencing violence that concerned them, according to court filings.
Aside from filing a criminal charge of threats of violence, the Wright County Attorney also petitioned for what's called an "extreme risk protection order," asking a judge to order Sheldon to turn over any gun he might have.
The extreme risk protection orders — called ERPOs for short — are available through a new "red flag" gun law passed last year by the Minnesota Legislature after the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and others lobbied for it. The law gives a judge the authority to take guns away from someone who poses "a significant danger to others or is at a significant risk of suicide."
The law went into effect on Jan. 1, and a KARE 11 News analysis found 18 cases so far in which someone petitioned for an ERPO.
Of those 18 petitions,
- 14 of them were filed by law enforcement agencies
- 4 were filed by civilians
- Nearly all of them involved a person with a history of, or on-going mental illness
- 10 involved a person who was suicidal
The intent of the law is to hopefully save lives.
"The data shows that — again I have not vetted the accuracy of the data — but it does show a statistically significant saving of lives according to their research," said Richard Hodsdon, general counsel for the Minnesota Sheriff's Association.
Hodsdon is training law enforcement on the new law.
"The concern was that you would have family members and angry ex-spouses and everybody who possibly could be filing petitions, and so far, we have not seen a significant number of private petitions. Most are filed by law enforcement," Hodsdon said.
Four petitions so far this year have been denied by a judge, who ruled the petitioner did not prove the significant danger posed.
But in another case, parents of a St. Olaf College student reported his escalating and extreme behaviors, including threats to kill himself and shoot the officers who are called for help.
A judge signed the extreme risk protection order requiring the young man to turn over any firearms to Northfield police.
For more information about how to file a petition, visit the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's website.
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