NH hospital shooting points to big flaw in the state law, report shows

A 44-page report authorities released last week shows that the man who shot security officer  Bradley T. Haas dead at a state-run psychiatric facility in Concord lied about his mental health while purchasing the firearm used. 

John D. Madore, the shooter, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in the past and had previously been a patient at the hospital, twice.

The report found that the 9 mm handgun Madore used was bought from a dealer in Barrington in Feb. 2022, wherein he had lied about his mental health history. 

Under federal law, Madore would have been prohibited from purchasing firearms due to his history with mental illness. 

As per New Hampshire law, one does not need a license to purchase a firearm, and there is no minimum age to possess a gun. New Hampshire is also one of the few states that does not require the state to pass along information on mental health adjudication and involuntary commitment to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s gun background check database. 

Democratic-introduced legislation that would have authorized the state to send such data to the FBI passed the House in a bipartisan fashion earlier this year, but failed in the Senate from Republican pushback.