A convicted murderer, who spent time in a hospital for mental illness after he killed his mother, legally obtained a permit and purchased an arsenal of guns because of a loophole in the Minnesota legislation.
Christian Oberender, now 32, killed his mother in the family's home with five shots from a shotgun in 1995, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was 14-years-old at the time and was eventually committed to a hospital for being mentally ill and dangerous. Despite this, Oberender was able to obtain a gun permit last May and has since amassed an arsenal of 13 guns, including semi-automatic rifles, an AK-47, a Tommy gun, assorted shotguns and a .50-caliber Desert Eagle.
A 2003 Associated Press report reveals that Oberender had lived in treatment centers until he was 21 and then moved to a halfway house. Doctors treating Oberender revealed that he had serious mental illnesses, including potentially schizophrenia.
"I saw all kinds of psychologists and got all kinds of treatment," he told the AP. They showed him "how I can manage my behavior and not get angry over stupid stuff."
He was arrested on Jan. 2 for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, according to the Herald-Journal. As investigators looked into Oberender's case, they realized the convicted criminal was allowed to get a gun permit without raising any red flags because the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) didn't have a fingerprint card from his 1995 murder and there was no case disposition. Carver County Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud told the Herald-Journal that "any purchasing of guns by him was never legal but it was possible because the disqualifiers weren't in place."
The BCA claims it never received the proper records after Oberender killed his mother.
"The BCA relies on entities in the criminal justice system to provide data on an individual which then populates the individual's criminal history," the department said in a statement to KARE 11. "There were no data submitted to the BCA about this individual - without it there can be no record."
Oberender isn't the first person disqualified from owning a gun who obtained one anyway. The federal database used for gun background checks may be missing millions of records on people with mental illnesses who are forbidden from owning guns, according to a recent New York Times report.
On Wednesday, President Obama revealed his plan to curb gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The legislation would require mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, a ban on assault weapons and improved access to mental health care.
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