A family is calling for action after they say a 22-year-old man fatally shot his father outside of New Paltz Diner back in June.
The family says that after Jeremy Kaartine killed Andrew Kaartine on June 1, he then killed himself with a gun that never should have been issued to him.
"We had a judge who issued a pistol permit to an individual who had a longstanding, well-documented history of mental illness, domestic violence and behavioral issues,” says Tamara Miller-Kammerer, the fiancée of Andrew Kaartine. "Despite strenuous opposition from two separate police agencies, the judge chose to issue him a pistol permit."
MORE:
Police: Man killed in New Paltz shooting; son also dead State Supreme Court Justice Julian Schreibman is a licensing judge who is allowed to approve pistol permits. The Office of Court Administration, which oversees New York courts, says approving those permits is complicated and that it is open to improving its systems. It wrote in part, “While there is no formal training, a possibility being discussed going forward could be a forum where all our licensing judges can get together and discuss many of these same issues that arise."
It could possibly be avoided in the future, as the Red Flag law has now passed in New York state.
"It would allow a family member, a police officer or a teacher to identify someone who is potentially dangerous and petition a court to have that person's firearms removed,” says state Sen. James Skoufis (D). "Certainly if we had this Red Flag law in the books at the time, the family could have petitioned a court to remove his firearms and this could have been prevented."
The law did not exist on June 1.
The family is in the process of filing a complaint with the New York State Commission on Judicial Misconduct.