Gun restraining order imposed on Carlsbad man who spoke with mass shooter
FILE AR- style rifles are displayed for sale at Firearms Unknown a gun store in Oceanside California U S April REUTERS Bing Guan A three-year gun violence restraining order was imposed Monday against a Carlsbad man who allegedly discussed committing a mass shooting in online conversations with a teenage girl who fatally shot two people and injured six others at a Wisconsin school last year Though criminal charges have not been filed against Alexander Paffendorf he came under law enforcement scrutiny after federal agents discovered online messages between him and -year-old Natalie Samantha Rupnow who committed a deadly mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison Wisconsin in December Paffendorf was detained by law enforcement and his home was searched While no guns were uncovered and no guns were registered to him an crisis gun violence protective order was obtained late last year The new restraining order imposed Monday prevents him from owning or purchasing firearms for the three-year period Court documents state that Paffendorf admitted to FBI agents that he narrated Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a authorities building At a Monday court hearing San Diego police Detective Justin Wallace testified that Paffendorf reported Rupnow which types of weapons he thought would be best to use in a mass shooting He also suggested using a fertilizer bomb or a bomb that could be remotely activated by a cell phone Wallace testified Paffendorf narrated Wallace he discussed the subjects with Rupnow in hopes of pursuing a romantic relationship with her according to the detective During Monday s court hearing Paffendorf declared his discussions with Rupnow were highly inappropriate but also described them as off the cuff comments He denied ever making substantive plans to commit any violent acts or having future plans of owning weapons though he stated the restraining order sought by officials was disrupting his ability to secure employment While a deputy city attorney with the city of Carlsbad sought a two- year restraining order San Diego Superior Court Judge Blair Soper explained a three- year order was warranted because this matter is just too severe Soper revealed the in-depth discussions of firearms and explosives contained in the messages presented a critical amount of research into weaponry was likely conducted The judge also noted that the conversations with Rupnow occurred very not long ago which he commented was way too soon to determine that you are authorized to own guns any time soon
