The man authorities say gunned down both his fiancee and her brother at a Warren Township home Sunday fiercely opposed gun control, judging by frequent remarks he made on Facebook.

And NJ.com reported Thursday, citing unnamed officials, that John Reno didn't legally own the weapon he used in the shooting. So far, authorities have only described it as an "assault rifle" that accepted high-capacity magazines. But if it qualified as an assault firearm under New Jersey law, Reno couldn't have owned it legally with or without a permit.

Although John Reno's Facebook page is publicly viewable, many recent posts are not. But in 2012 and earlier, he posted again and again — dozens of times, maybe more — about his disdain for gun control. Many of those posts were shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 20 children and six staff members were killed.

Some examples:

Some posts compare President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler for supporting gun control. Another wants the White House to rule out any pro-gun-control petitions it receives as unconstitutional.

Authorities haven't yet said what they believe caused Reno to lash out with such violence — only that Reno and Heidi Errickson got into an argument at the home they shaed, and in response, he shot and killer her. But the prosecutor's office has said he may have had a history of mental illness.

Reno shot Heidi Errickson's brother, Frederick Errickson Jr., as he approached the house to check on her, the prosecutor's office has said. He eventually turned the gun on himself and was found in a drainage ditch in a wooded area behind the home.

 

 

so violently

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