LOS ANGELES — Sheriff’s officials wrongfully returned a gun to a man who used it to kill his ex-wife inside a busy Southern California mall last weekend, even though a judge had ordered the weapon be confiscated by investigators, authorities said Wednesday. In January 2015, the charge was dismissed because Siddiqi stopped co-operating with investigators, the sheriff’s department said. Crane later contacted the California Department of Justice and received a letter saying he was eligible to possess a gun. He later went to the sheriff’s office and the confiscated gun was returned to him, officials said. Crane was legally allowed to purchase a gun — because he wasn’t convicted of a crime — but the sheriff’s department should not have returned the gun that was confiscated, Buschow said.

Source: National Post March 21, 2018 23:03 UTC