Man Threatens Home Healthcare Worker, Police Seize Hundreds Of Guns

Police arrested a 55-year-old Indiana man on Friday after he allegedly threatened to kill a home healthcare worker. After taking the man into custody on a warrant for felony intimidation, and taking into account the healthcare worker’s statements and the fact the man may have mental health issues, law enforcement also decided to use the state’s red flag law to seize his firearms.

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What law enforcement found can only be described as an arsenal, and guns weren’t the only weapons found in the house.

The man, Gary Diana, had so many firearms, Vigo County Sheriff Greg Ewing told the Tribune Star, “In my 27 years, this is the most number of guns and explosive devices I’ve seen in one house.” Yes, explosive devices.

From the Tribune Star:

A Terre Haute man’s threat to a home healthcare worker Thursday prompted his arrest Friday and the seizure of hundreds of firearms and ammunition from his house at 936 Sunset Pike Drive, police said.

Once deputies entered the home Friday morning and saw what to be appeared hand grenades, Ewing said, they called in the Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit of the Indiana State Police. Due to the amount of firearms and munitions in the home, agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also requested.

Ewing said information on the firearms and ammunition will be recorded, then each item will be seized and stored while the ATF investigation continues. It is possible the firearms could be returned to Diana if a court finds no laws have been broken, he said.

To get an idea of just how many firearms Diana had, the Tribune Star reports that police are having to use a semitrailer to transport all of them.

While having hundreds of guns, legally, isn’t problematic, being in possession of possibly illegal firearms and explosives, while making a threat to murder someone, is.

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Today’s society touts the saying, “see something, say something.” What’s not in the saying, but is implied, is after seeing something and saying something, someone must “do something.” In the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, school officials and law enforcement were told about the threat the shooter posed, but they failed to act on numerous occasions. Here, law enforcement did its job.

Furthermore, the court will follow due process laws. If not convicted of a crime, whether it be for the felony intimidation charge or a charge of being in possession of an illegal firearm, the man can have his guns returned.

And if Diana has mental health issues, here’s hoping the state can find a way for him to get the help he needs.

The state of Indiana passed red flag laws in 2006 after a man with schizophrenia murdered a police officer. WFYI Indianapolis explains, “The shooter previously had his guns taken away before a hospitalization, but there was no law stopping him from getting them back after his release.”

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