The closest weapon to AR-15 I have ever owned is a M-1 Carbine. I don’t own an automatic weapon ‘cuz I can’t afford the cost, the tag, or the ammo! Also, I like old guns.
As for mentally ill, I am pretty sure all of ‘em think I’m not exctly right in the head... :)
As I said, I think they creating a legend for him - providing material for his defense. If I thought someone was dangerously mentally ill in my house, the guns would go to a storage unit or a neighbor, and the individual would go to a doctor.
The majority of the time the family will try to defend one of their own. But it just wasn’t just the family who described this guy as a possible time bomb.
“”Alissa was convicted in 2018 of assaulting a fellow high school student, according to police documents. A former classmate told the AP he was kicked off the wrestling team after yelling he would kill everyone following a loss in a practice match.” https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/colorado-shooting-suspect-make-1st-court-appearance-76670054
He was also telling others people were hacking his phone, watching him, and he’d been arrested for assault among other things.