MINI TRUE CRIME ROUNDUP: There were warning signs before this tragedy struck

Lauren Barry (0:02)

This is a True Crime Roundup from the On Deadline Podcast. We explore crime stories reported on by Audacy's radio newsrooms across the country.

I'm your host, Lauren Barry.

This week, we're exploring the continued reverberations of a shocking shooting in Minneapolis. A journalist and lawmaker join Audacy to discuss the shooting that claimed two lives and injured two police officers earlier this month. The man identified as the culprit had a history of threats, but he still had a gun. Is there anything that could have been done before tragedy struck? First, here are two dispatches out of Audacy Station, KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia, including a murder for hire case.

SPEAKER_2 (0:56)

Back here, a federal indictment charges the former girlfriend of a Philadelphia cop with allegedly scheming to hire a hitman to kill the officer and his teenage daughter last year. Here's KYW's John McDevitt.

John McDevitt (1:06)

The US. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia says if convicted, 28-year-old Jacqueline Diorio of Runamee could get up to 20 years in prison. Officials in Camden County said back in the spring of last year, Diorio negotiated a price of $12,000 to have her ex-boyfriend, a Philadelphia cop, and his daughter killed. Investigators say she was actually talking to an informant over the phone who was posing as the hitman. Officials say when she went to meet the man in person in Gloucester Township, that's when she was arrested after giving the man $500 for a down payment.

Sean McDevitt, KYW Newsradio, 103.9 FM.

SPEAKER_4 (1:42)

Oh, police in Lansdowne, Delaware County are investigating a shooting that left an 18-year-old dead. KYW's Connor Barkan has more.

Connor Barkan (1:50)

Lansdowne police say an officer was near North Wycombe at Lackburn Avenue around 1030 last night when he saw two men near a vehicle and then heard gunfire. The car sped off and crashed half a block away and the two men ran into a nearby apartment building. Officers found the driver suffering from gunshot wounds. The 18-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Two people were detained after a search of the apartment complex. No charges have been filed. Lansdowne police chief Ken Rutherford called the shooting a terrible tragedy and said those responsible will be held accountable. Anyone with information is asked to call Lansdowne police. Connor Barkan, KYW Newsradio 1039 FM.

Lauren Barry (2:26)

KYW also reported on a shooting that claimed the life of a 65-year-old man.

Cedric Frazier (2:33)

Police are investigating a shooting this morning that claimed the life of a man in Ogon's. KYW's Connor Barkan has more.

Connor Barkan (2:39)

Police were called to the intersection of North Grat Street and Metairie Avenue a little after 6 AM for a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found a 65-year-old man shot once in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.

Police say a single shell casing was recovered near the man's body, but no arrests have been made. Investigators are trying to piece together what led up to the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives. Connor Barkan, KYW Newsradio, 103.9 FM.

Lauren Barry (3:05)

A man who had been evicted from his unit in a Minneapolis apartment building opened fire in that building, killing two people. He also injured cops that came to the scene.

There were warning signs before the tragedy took place. And Jason DeRuscia of Audacy station WCCO News and Talk in the Twin Cities had Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Jeff Day on his show this week to discuss the case.

Jason DeRuscia (3:34)

And Jason DeRuscia was one of the first people to be arrested for the crime of violence, I feel, for anyone who is just in their home, over 60 years old, on the ninth floor of this Loring Park apartment building.

And these two presumably were executed by this guy. We know they have video of it. But pretty soon after, we learned that like this guy was a known threat. And then you started unleashing and untangling just how many red flags and warning signs there are. And the logical question is the one that is the headline of the latest piece, which is how was a mass shooter with such a violent history able to get a gun permit? And that's where you guys really started digging, right?

Jeff Day (4:30)

Well, I think it all stemmed from this very quick reality that, as you said, not only were there flags around him, but that there was active investigations into him, that there was a charge sitting on the desk of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office related to him, that NPD had looked at him for a firearm-related crime and presented that for charges. Then it became a question of, oh, he also received a gun permit. How is that possible?