Shooter Case Studies

DoubleCheck has developed cutting-edge technology that can flag harmful intent and troubling criminal history before a potential shooter purchases a weapon. DoubleCheck offers a concurrent screening process that runs alongside the existing point-of-sale system. It provides additional information that the federal process may miss on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) without adding any time or friction at the register.

By examining felony arrests versus convictions across all jurisdictions, DoubleCheck ensures a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of an individual’s criminal history. These case studies show shooters who passed the NICS check, enabling them to purchase weapons to commit their horrendous crimes. DoubleCheck would have identified criminal history preventing weapons purchase.

1 NICS Approved FFL Purchase
(Feb. 2017)

17 dead, 17 injured
Parkland, FL . Feb.14 2018

  • 1 Arrest
    1 Misdemeanor:
    Battery (Sept. 24, 2016)

  • Open declaration of malintent across a 5-month period

4 NICS Approved FFL Purchases
(2014-2017)
27 dead, 22 injured
Sutherland Springs, TX . Nov.5 2017

  • 3 Arrests
    1 Felony: Domestic Assault (Nov. 2012)
    1 Misdemeanor: Assault (Jun. 2011)
    1 Misdemeanor: Animal Cruelty (Apr. 2016)

    2 Convictions
    Felony Domestic Assault and Misdemeanor Assault (Nov. 2012)

  • Warrants/Watchlist: 1 (Protection Order)

1 NICS Approved FFL Purchase
(Apr. 2015)

9 dead, 1 injured
Charleston, SC . June.17 2015

  • 1 Arrest
    1 Misdemeanor: Drug Possession (Feb. 28, 2015)

  • Open declaration of malintent via online manifesto Facebook images

2 NICS Approved FFL Purchases
(Jul. & Sept. 2020)
9 dead, 7 injured
Indianapolis, IN . Apr. 15 2021

  • Diagnosed with several behavioral disorders.March 2020: Hole's mother reported hisintent to die by suicide by cop and his purchase of a shotgun the day before.

  • March 2020: During the police response to seize the shotgun, white supremacist websites were found on his computer. Hole was released less than two hours later.
    April 2020: the FBI questioned Hole about the websites. The investigation was later closed due to insufficient evidence of any criminal violation.

  • Under Indiana's red flag law, Hole could have been prevented from making firearm purchasesfor at least six months after his temporary mental health detainment if a hearing had been scheduled with a judge fourteen days after the seizure of his shotgun. However, Marion County prosecutors decided to not schedule such a hearing, believing authorities had already achieved the law's objective since Hole's family did not want the seized shotgun back.

2 NICS Approved FFL Purchases
(Jun. 2016)

49 dead, 53 injured
Orlando, FL. Jun.12 2016

  • Listed on two federal watchlists: The Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment and the Terrorist Screening Database in 2013 and 2014 – FBI investigated for connections to terrorism but was subsequently removed due to inconclusive evidence.

  • Worked as a security guard and already had a concealed firearms license.

1 NICS Approved FFL Purchase
(Feb. 2014)
2 dead, 9 injured
Lafayette, LA. Jul.23 2015

  • Arrested in 1980 on arson charges. In Columbus he was arrested 15 times between 1996 and 2011 on minor charges.
    2006: Denied a state-issued concealed weapons permit because he was accused of domestic violence and soliciting. 2008: Judge ordered him sent to a psychiatric hospital.

  • 2014: Bought a .40-caliber pistol at a pawnshop through a legal sale, though he had been denied a concealed weapons permit earlier, and despite concerns among family members that he was violent and mentally ill.

1 NICS Approved FFL Purchase
(Sept. 2013)

12 dead, 3 injured
Navy Yard, Washington, DC .
Sept 16. 2013

  • 3 Arrests
    - Shooting a firearm into a
    neighbor’s apartment (Sept. 2010)
    - Disorderly conduct (2008)
    - Shooting out the tires of another man’s vehicle (2004)

    Court records do not indicate he was convicted in any of these cases, and this record did not prohibit him from buying guns.

  • During his military service he was reportedly cited on at least eight occasions for misconduct ranging from traffic tickets and showing up late for work to insubordination, extended absences from work, and disorderly conduct. On account of this, the Navy sought to offer him a “general discharge,” but he was ultimately honorably discharged through the early-enlisted transition program in January 2011.

2 NICS Approved FFL Purchases
(2007)

33 dead, 23 injured
Virginia Tech,Blacksburg, VA . Apr.16 2007

  • Dec 14, 2005 - Cho was released from a temporary mental health facility, after Cho's release, on the same day Virginia Special Justice Paul Barnett certified in an order that Cho "presented an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness," and ordered treatment for Cho as an outpatient. However, Cho did not receive the treatment.
    Weapons purchase:He lied about his mental health on both background checks, which enabled him to purchase weapons.

  • During Cho's ninth-grade year in 1999, the Columbine High School massacre made international news, inspiring Cho to write in a school assignment about wanting to "repeat Columbine." Cho was sent to a psychiatrist. Cho sent an e-mail to a roommate stating, "I might as well kill myself now." The campus police returned to the dormitory and escorted Cho to New River Valley Community Services Board, the Virginia mental health agency serving Blacksburg.