Mentally Ill Man First Victim of Anti-Gun AB 291

Smith and Wesson MP-15/22

Anonymous sources within LVMPD reported a horrifying incident in Blue Diamond Monday afternoon. Patrol officers arrived at the home in Rhodes Ranch to find a male in his mid-twenties missing four fingers of his left hand. His mother called 911 after hearing her son screaming from the garage where he deliberately cut off the fingers of his left hand using a circular saw. Earlier in the day the man had been testifying in opposition to the gun control bill AB 291, which would ban “rate increasing devices” on semi-automatic firearms.

Officers were able to speak with the man who said he was afraid of his hands being considered a “rate increasing device” as he claimed to be able to rapidly pull the trigger of a firearm to simulate fully automatic fire. He is a fan of several well-known rapid fire shooters like Jerry Miculek and Ed McGivern. A semi-automatic Smith and Wesson MP-15/22 was removed from the home. All of his pants had the belt loops cut off to prevent the technique known as “bump firing,” he told police.

​Link: See videos of Jerry Miculek shooting AR-15 rapid fire and a "bump stock."

The man’s mother stated the man has a history of mental illness but had not been declared mentally incompetent and was allowed to own firearms. He has no history of suicide attempts or self-harm. Officer did share that the man is well-known at police stations around the valley for asking to “register his hands as deadly weapons” as he claimed to be a “martial arts expert.”

The patient was initially brought to Spring Valley Medical Center, but was transported to UMC where surgeons were trying to reattach his fingers. He is currently on a Legal 2000 mental health 72-hour hold. The officers reported the man told medical staff that he cut off his left fingers because he was right handed and it seemed natural to start with the left hand, but had not considered how he would remove the fingers from his dominant hand.

Captain Warner of Enterprise Area Command declined to make a statement but requested the name of the officers involved. Nevada Carry refuses to release the names of its anonymous sources to protect their identity. Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, sponsor of AB 291, could also not be reached for comment.​ Jauregui was quoted in the Reno Gazette-Journal as denying that her bill, which would ban certain guns and increase local restrictions on guns, was "anti-gun" and that she was not an "anti-gun" person.

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