Everytown Releases New Resource to Improve Use of Nevada’s Red Flag Law Following Manhattan Shooting

Access to Firearm Used in Deadly Shooting Could Have Been Prevented with Proper Implementation of Nevada’s Own High Risk Protection Order Law Passed in 2019; Nevada Shooter Was Hospitalized Twice for Mental Health Evaluations Prior to Last Week’s Shooting

NEW YORK – In response to last week’s deadly mass shooting in Manhattan—where a gunman armed with an assault-style weapon drove from Nevada to target the NFL’s headquarters—Everytown for Gun Safety has released a new resource to help Nevada law enforcement better understand and use the state’s High Risk Protection Order law, which is also known as a red flag law or extreme risk protection order law in other states. Reporting shows the shooter had access to a gun both times law enforcement conducted mental health crisis interventions in 2022 and 2024. Based on the shooter’s suicidal ideation and mental health issues, law enforcement—believing he posed a danger to himself and others—took him to a hospital to be evaluated for emergency treatment and, potentially, involuntary commitment. There is no question that a high risk protection order could also have been sought.

“I strongly urge all Nevadans to familiarize themselves with our state’s high risk protection order law. This law is a vital tool that can help ensure the safety of Nevadans and limit gun violence in the Silver State,” said Attorney General Aaron Ford. “My office has held past trainings to educate both members of the public and law enforcement on Nevada’s high risk protection order law, and we will hold further trainings before the end of the year both in-person and online. I encourage anyone who can take part in these trainings to do so.” 

“The tragedy in Manhattan last week makes one thing painfully clear: there were other steps that could have been taken to limit the shooter’s access to firearms and Nevada’s red flag law remains underutilized,” said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. “Officers and all Nevadans need greater education, training, and support to ensure they know how and when to use this life-saving tool to keep firearms out of the hands of people at risk of harming themselves or someone else.”

Nevada’s High Risk Protection Order law creates a civil legal process through which law enforcement officers who encounter individuals in crisis and concerned family or household members of individuals at risk can request that a court issue an order that temporarily restricts that person’s access to firearms if the court finds that a person poses a risk of harm to themselves or others. This law creates a crucial crisis intervention tool that can help prevent tragedies which, as with last week’s mass shooting, are often preceded by clear warning signs. 

Everytown’s new resource provides key information designed to educate law enforcement officers on what a high risk protection order is, the types of situations where it may be appropriate to seek an order, the legal standard for obtaining an order, and some best practices for safely seeking relinquishment of firearms.  

According to multiple reports, the shooter had been hospitalized twice in Nevada for short-term mental health evaluations but was never placed under a court-ordered, long-term psychiatric commitment. Such a commitment, had it been ordered, would have barred him, under federal and Nevada state law, from purchasing and possessing firearms and disqualified him from obtaining (or retaining) a Nevada concealed carry permit. However, there has been no reporting that officers sought to obtain a high risk protection order, which if granted, would have prohibited the shooter from purchasing and possessing firearms and required him to surrender any that were in his possession. 

Nevada’s ERPO law was passed in 2019, in response to the country’s deadliest mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, where a gunman equipped with 14 AR-15-style rifles equipped with bump stocks fired more than 1,000 rounds, killing 60 people and wounding more than 400. 

Yet in the years since the law took effect in 2020, Nevada’s law has rarely been used —undermining its potential to intervene before violence occurs. In 2024, New York saw 5,370 extreme risk petitions filed, Nevada saw only 28, according to data from the Attorney General’s office. Only 20 orders were issued in 2023. The wide disparity in usage of extreme risk laws from state to state underscores the need for ongoing focus on ensuring the effective implementation of these laws. 
In May 2023, the Everytown for Gun Safety Support fund partnered with the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to release a comprehensive guide to implementation of extreme risk laws. Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund also established the Everytown Implementation Center, a new effort to provide comprehensive support and guidance to state and local leaders on the effective implementation of life-saving gun laws, including extreme risk laws.