The governor, an ex officio regent, is interested in gun control legislation in response to a recent US Supreme Court ruling. Other ex officio regents include the lieutenant governor (technically the presiding officer of the state senate), the speaker of the assembly, and the superintendent of public instruction. All of these officials have an interest in gun control, particularly on university campuses. It may be that additional legislative remedies are needed in cases such as the one described below:
He’s behind bars again — for now: Prosecutors believe former student still plans to commit mass shooting at UC Irvine.
By Hannah Fry, LA Times, 7-15-22
Sebastian Dumbrava seemed like an ordinary UC Irvine student, studying computer science and applying for summer internships. Then his life unraveled, beginning with several Reddit posts that led campus police to place him on a psychiatric hold, even though he denied writing them. He sued the University of California Board of Regents, angry that his prospects of working for the federal government had probably evaporated. He tweeted about suicide and about “serious consequences.” He shared a quote about “blood on your hands” from the gunman who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007.
In January 2020, Dumbrava was arrested after police found a trove of ammunition, large-capacity magazines and the parts to build an AR-15 in his bedroom. Orange County prosecutors believe he intended to shoot up the UC Irvine campus. Because he had not committed violence or explicitly threatened it, Dumbrava was convicted only of having the ammunition and unlawfully possessing a gun. He was released from prison after seven months. The judge in the case expressed deep misgivings that Dumbrava was not getting the mental health help he needed and was still a danger to others.
Days after his release, Dumbrava emailed a University of California official and an attorney, demanding $50,000. Now he is behind bars again, facing new charges. Prosecutors think he still intends to commit a mass shooting at his alma mater. The new charges — encompassing the emailed monetary demand, which prosecutors characterize as attempted extortion, as well as a revival of previous charges for possessing large capacity magazines — carry a maximum sentence of four years and four months. Dumbrava’s case highlights the challenges of preventing a mass shooting — even after a potential shooter has come to law enforcement’s attention...
In one of Dumbrava’s last tweets before his latest arrest, he hinted that mass murder was on his mind. A few years ago, he noted, he had vacillated about his plans, concluding that it would not “feel good to kill students at UC Irvine.” Now, he wrote, “things are very different.”
Full article at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-15/man-suspected-of-plotting-a-mass-shooting-at-uc-irvine-is-behind-bars-again-for-now.
Blog readers from UCLA will recall a suspension of classes on campus when a related situation developed - although it turned out in that case that the individual was out of state at the time:
https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/02/remember-one-day-shutdown-update.html.
Another such situation arose at UC-Berkeley earlier this year:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/04/follow-up-on-lockdown-that-took-place.html.
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Although we have posted it before, here is UCLA's official guidance video for mass shooter situations:
Or direct to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrbqmzCZS_A.
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