Last week, we discussed the disturbing incident at Bostrom High School in Phoenix, Arizona where a mass shooting was potentially averted when police seized an AR-15 rifle from a fifteen-year-old student who had brought it onto the campus. There were plenty of lessons to be learned from the event that will hopefully be of use to other schools around the country as they seek to prevent future mass shootings. Now, the local NBC news outlet has obtained court records providing more details about the boy and how this near tragedy almost took place. His identity is still being concealed because of his age, but the available details may help other school systems flag potentially dangerous teens who may attempt similar acts of mayhem. They have also revealed some technical details regarding the weapon that he brought to the school.

As unlikely as it seems, the boy is claiming that it was someone else’s rifle and that he was simply “holding it for them.” I suppose that can’t be ruled out entirely, but if it’s true the police haven’t identified anyone else as the supposed owner.

Questions were initially raised as to whether the firearm may have belonged to the boy’s parents. But the parents are reportedly out of the picture. The boy is living with “caretakers” who told the police that they have been unable to “control, supervise or parent the juvenile in a home environment” despite their “best efforts” to do so. This clearly seems to be a case of a troubled youth with behavioral issues.

In the aftermath of the initial event, I asked how the teenager could have gotten a rifle into the school without anyone immediately noticing. Part of that mystery has been solved. The AR-15 has a detachable barrel and the boy had disassembled it, stuffing the barrel and upper section of the firearm into his sweatpants. The rest of the weapon, along with the ammunition, was in his backpack. That fact probably saved some lives by rendering him unable to immediately draw and fire the rifle when officers approached him.

The rifle itself was notable because it was fitted with a “Lightning Link” device. The Lightning Link is described as being similar in function to a bump stock, allowing the firearm to function in fully automatic mode as a machine gun. (You can read a full description of how the Lightning Link functions and watch a video of how it is used at this link.)

That fact caused even more legal trouble for the boy because even the possession of a Lightning Link is a felony. Amazingly, he told police that he was unaware that the firearm could act as a machine gun with the Lightning Link inserted into it.

The police have also discovered an Instagram conversation between the teen and another unnamed person seeking information about purchasing a firearm. The boy told the cops that they were mistaken and the conversation was actually about buying “gloves.” Honesty does not appear to be his strong suit.

If law enforcement can develop a full profile of this teenager (without the name, of course), they should share that information with school districts around the country. While it may seem a bit invasive in terms of privacy, we might be able to identify other students in unstable situations who may also be at risk of going off the deep end before they attempt a mass shooting. This is yet another way that we might benefit from this near tragedy and prevent future attacks. Now we just need Nashville to turn over that trans shooter’s manifesto and perhaps we will be able to learn even more vital information.