[Bob]

Think twice or maybe three times before you call the police with a family problem.

From the full article, it was the former girlfriend rather than the family who initially called the police and told them he had a gun.

[Tax-chick]

“Don’t back me into a corner,” his father remembers Austin saying. “Because I’ll make it go away in four seconds.” To Russell Reeves [the father], the meaning was clear — Austin would hurt himself if he wasn’t left in peace. Stunned and afraid, Reeves [the father] dialed the Hingham police just after 10 p.m. to ask for help.

I'm confused. Mr. Reeves says he believed his son should be left alone, or he would "hurt himself," but Mr. Reeves called the police. It sounds as if Mr. Reeves really believed that Austin might hurt somebody else (the ex-girlfriend?) if he were left alone.

[Pontiac]

The girlfriend made the first call the father made a second.

“Don’t back me into a corner,” his father remembers Austin saying. “Because I’ll make it go away in four seconds.” To Russell Reeves, the meaning was clear — Austin would hurt himself if he wasn’t left in peace. Stunned and afraid, Reeves dialed the Hingham police just after 10 p.m. to ask for help

[PAR35]

From the full article, it was the former girlfriend rather than the family who initially called the police and told them he had a gun.

So she was a smart girl who figured out a legal way to permanently get rid of a crazy ex boyfriend?