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 exposed 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 described Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a regime building At a Monday court hearing San Diego police Detective Justin Wallace testified that Paffendorf explained 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 explained 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 stated 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 disclosed the restraining order sought by personnel 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 commented a three- year order was warranted because this occurrence is just too severe Soper declared the in-depth discussions of firearms and explosives contained in the messages evidenced a important amount of research into weaponry was likely conducted The judge also noted that the conversations with Rupnow occurred very in recent days which he declared was way too soon to determine that you are authorized to own guns any time soon