Despite A Mandated Psych Eval, Accused Buffalo Shooter Bought A Gun

NPR: Buffalo Suspect Bought A Rifle Months After Cops Ordered A Psych Evaluation
Robert Donald, 75, the owner of Vintage Firearms in Endicott, N.Y., told NPR that the firearm was purchased in 2022. And he confirmed that he had run a background check on Payton Gendron, the 18-year-old suspect, but that the report showed nothing. The purchase took place months after New York state police briefly took Gendron into custody after he made a threat about a shooting, as authorities have described. Last June, state police investigated Gendron and ordered a psychiatric evaluation. After a day and a half in a hospital, he was released, authorities say. Afterward, he did not remain on law enforcement's radar. The timing of the gun purchase, along with Donald's report of a clean background check, raises questions about why a police-ordered mental health evaluation would not have appeared on the report. (Sullivan, 5/16)

AP: Buffalo Shooter's Previous Threat Raises Red-Flag Questions 
Less than a year before he opened fire and killed 10 people in a racist attack at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store, 18-year-old Payton Gendron was investigated for making a threatening statement at his high school. New York has a “red flag” law designed to keep firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others, but Gendron was still able to legally buy an AR-15-style rifle. The “general” threat at Susquehanna Valley High School last June, when he was 17, resulted in state police being called and a mental health evaluation at a hospital. (Whitehurst, Tarm and Anderson, 5/17)

In related news on gun violence —

The Hill: Illinois To Cover Funeral Expenses For Children Killed By Gun Violence 
Parents and guardians who experience the death of a child by gun violence will be eligible for up to $10,000 to help pay for funeral expenses thanks to new legislation passed into law in Illinois. The Murdered Children Funeral and Burial Assistance Act was signed into law on May 10 by Governor JB Pritzker (D). The bill cites the painful process of bereavement for families, who also must bear the responsibilities of planning and paying for a funeral—usually through some form of debt.  (Ali, 5/16)

Three Illinois deaths are blamed on the heat —

AP: Three Women Found Dead Amid Heat At Chicago Senior Center
Three women who were found dead at a senior living facility on Chicago’s North Side amid high heat have been identified, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday. ... All three women were found unresponsive over a 12-hour span at the James Sneider Apartments, where residents started complaining of oppressively hot conditions days earlier. Alderwoman Maria Hadden said she believes that a lack of air conditioning in the building likely caused the deaths. (5/16)

Chicago Tribune: ‘I Was Scared To Go To Sleep’: Residents, Family Members Describe Oven-Like Conditions In Rogers Park Building Where 3 Women Died
When Veldarin Jackson received a call on Saturday that his 68-year-old mother had been found dead, he and his wife, Adjoa, rushed to her Rogers Park apartment. The pair entered the unit and felt like they were walking into an oven. “It was extremely hot in there,” Adjoa Jackson said. “You could hardly breathe.” Janice Reed, who was found dead around 11:32 a.m. in that furnace-like apartment, was among three women who died Saturday in a Rogers Park senior housing facility after residents had begged the property managers for days to turn off the heat and turn on the air conditioning amid record-breaking temperatures, according to the residents, family members and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. (Buckley and McCoppin, 5/16)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

AP: Medical Marijuana Petition Drive Sues To Ease Ballot Rules
A group that wants to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska sued the state on Monday to try to overturn a requirement that makes it harder to qualify for the ballot by forcing petitioners to get signatures from a large number rural counties. The federal lawsuit comes after the group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana lost one of its biggest donors, forcing the campaign to rely primarily on volunteers as it scrambles to place the issue on the November general election ballot. (5/16)

Indianapolis Star: IU Health To Fund New Recovery Center For Moms And Kids
The new residence, which will be on the city's west side, is supported by Indiana University Health's Community Impact Investment Fund and is designed to be an "extension" of the Fresh Start program. It will allow women to remain with their children while in transitional recovery housing, John von Arx, president and CEO of Volunteers of America, said. "We feel firmly that if we can we can arrest that substance use disorder and treat and keep mom in a place where she is going to do just that — recover — that keeping her child with them in a very structured setting has the greatest chance of family and preservation," von Arx said. (Rafford, 5/17)

Iowa Public Radio: Study Finds Program Aimed At Iowans With Mexican Roots Improved Healthy Food Choices 
A new study has found a program aimed at Hispanic families with Mexican roots resulted in significant improvement in healthy food choices. The study, which was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, used the Abriendo Caminos — or opening roads — program developed at the University of Illinois. The program is aimed at Hispanic families, as Hispanic American children have disproportionally high rates of obesity. It focuses on nutrition, physical exercise and family time.The study looked at nearly 400 families with Mexican roots in Texas, California, Illinois and Iowa between 2015 and 2019. (Krebs, 5/16)