UCF student praising mass shooters as heroes is free to purchase guns

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - A UCF student accused of idolizing mass shooters online was held under the Baker Act last month due to new gun legislation. 

Now, an Orange County judge has ruled that the 21-year-old has done nothing wrong and is free to purchase a gun. 

While this student can go back to being a regular citizen, he is not allowed to come back to school. He is still enrolled in classes, but is banned from stepping foot on the UCF campus and all Orange County Public Schools. 

This is the first time the Orlando Police Department obtained a “risk protection order” – which allows law enforcement to seize firearms from people deemed to be mentally ill or a threat to themselves or others. 

Police said a 21-year-old UCF student made disturbing comments on the website Reddit, calling the Parkland and Las Vegas mass shooters his heroes. 

“They were not threats," his attorney Kendra E. Parris said. 

But that didn’t stop police from asking the student questions about committing a mass shooting. The student said if he was going to commit a mass shooting, he would do it where he was bullied at Odyssey Middle School and Lake Nona High School.

“But he also made it clear that he had no intention of committing violence," Parris said. 

Police searched the student’s home, where his father voluntarily relinquished his revolver that was locked in a safe. 

The student was held under the Baker Act and ultimately released after a doctor deemed he was not a threat. 

“My client wasn’t diagnosed with a serious mental issue," Parris said. 

On Monday, an Orange County judge lifted the temporary ban on the student that briefly prevented him from having access to or the right to purchase a firearm. 

“My client had no history of violence and the kicker is he never owned a gun," Parris said. 
 
Parris said the UCF student’s father was given his gun back and that he chose to sell it so that there are no longer any firearms in his house. 

The student is receiving counseling while the university continues to review his conduct. 

She added that they are exploring his legal options against the Orlando police.