BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) – The man arrested for sending out an extremely violent manifesto to people at the University of California Los Angeles campus where he once worked, was denied when he tried to buy a handgun in Jefferson County in November.
“Based on a protection order that was issued in the state of California, there was a national database that included a provision that he was not allowed to purchase or possess a firearm,” Michael Dougherty, the district attorney for Boulder County said.
Matthew Christopher Harris tried to buy the gun on Nov. 2, Chief of Boulder Police Maris Herold said.
Herold said she did not know what Harris’ connection was to the city of Boulder or whether he had any affiliation to the University of Colorado.
He previously worked as a philosophy lecturer at UCLA.
“We do believe he had a connection here in Boulder, but we’re just not sure of the magnitude of the relationships here at this time,” Herold said.
Herold said police officers had had previous contact with Harris in October, but no criminal activity was taking place, and Harris was not arrested.
“We’re still reviewing our reports from that incident,” Herold said.
Many of Harris’ online videos included rants with racially-charged language, videos featuring someone playing shooting video games or racing games with a male’s voice narrating, and unusual commentary in which Harris was sometimes featured speaking into a microphone or shouting.