How Did New Hope City Hall Shooter Get His Gun?

NEW HOPE, Minn. (AP) — Officials say they don't know how a man with a history of mental illness obtained the gun he used to shoot and wound two police officers before he was killed by authorities at a city hall in suburban Minneapolis.

Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek said Wednesday Richard Kmetz should not have had access to any type of weapon because of his past civil commitments for psychological issues. Stanek says the 68-year-old man shot the officers at New Hope City Hall with a "pistol grip shotgun" that had its serial numbers "obliterated."

The sheriff says Kmetz called the Hennepin County court system earlier Monday because he wanted some property returned. Stanek says Kmetz then left his Bell Plaine home and bought some ammunition.

Kmetz's son, Nathan Kmetz, says his father blamed authorities for the loss of his home and contracting business.