(Abingdon, VA) -- Virginia State Police are blaming 'human error' for the hiring of an officer who drove to Riverside, California and killed three people last month.
The Los Angeles Times reports 28-year-old Austin Edwards was detained for a psychiatric evaluation in 2016, after threatening to kill his father and himself.
Virginia State Police say they should have known about the incident before hiring the North Chesterfield man earlier this year.
Edwards was talking to a 15-year-old girl online while pretending to be a 17-year-old boy.
He showed up at the girl's house the day after Thanksgiving and killed her mother and grandparents, before setting their house on fire.
He took his own life later that day following a shootout with police.
