A confiscated gun was returned to a McKinney man who less than three weeks later killed a convenience store clerk before shooting himself.

Capt. Randy Roland said the McKinney Police Department was merely complying with a court order when it gave the pistol back to Christopher Byrd on July 17.

The Ruger 9 mm semiautomatic had been taken in November after an intoxicated Mr. Byrd – already on probation for a driving while intoxicated conviction – fired it in front of his house. Mr. Byrd, 20, was charged with firing a gun within the city limits, a misdemeanor, and the gun was kept by police as evidence.

Under the terms of a June 1 plea deal, police dismissed another pending case against Mr. Byrd – for selling alcohol to a minor – and his probation was extended.

The weapon was to be surrendered to McKinney police, court documents show, but that changed. On the form recommending Mr. Byrd's sentence, someone scratched out the phrase, "Forfeit weapon to McKinney PD."

"We didn't think he would get it back," said Mr. Byrd's father, Larry Byrd. "At the last minute, Tim Avery [Mr. Byrd's attorney] came out and said, 'You're going to get your weapon back.' "

David Waddill, chief of the misdemeanor trial division of the Collin County district attorney's office, said there wasn't anything unusual about the Byrd case or the return of the gun.

Mr. Waddill, who did not prosecute the case but handles media inquires, said Mr. Byrd's attorney told the prosecutor that the gun was not Mr. Byrd's and that he needed to return it to the rightful owner.

"The judge went along with that," Mr. Waddill said. "We put it in the plea, [the defense] made the request and the judge granted it. That's all I can tell you. Sometimes you gotta take people at their value."

Mr. Waddill said he didn't know whether Mr. Byrd was telling the truth about who owned the gun.

County Court-at-Law Judge Dan Wilson declined to comment.

"I told him he couldn't keep the gun in the house," Larry Byrd said. "He had to get rid of it immediately."

Larry Byrd said his son planned to sell the gun to help pay court fines.

"It had never even been out of the case 'til that morning," Mr. Byrd said.

On Aug. 4, Christopher Byrd came home around 5:30 a.m. after a night of drinking, his father said. His parents were awakened by his arrival. He said he was looking for money for cigarettes. His mother, who didn't want him to leave the house, went to buy him some. They last saw him smoking just outside the back door of the family's home.

A little more than an hour later, Christopher Byrd was found behind the counter of a Shell station, bleeding from what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Police also found the body of Brad Evans, a gas station employee, who had been shot several times.

Under Mr. Byrd's right leg, police found a loaded 9 mm.

It was a black and silver Ruger, just like the one taken from Mr. Byrd in November. But Capt. Roland said he isn't certain it's the same gun because officers who took the gun after the November incident weren't able to find its serial number. It was hidden by after-market grips, he said.

"We will admit that we didn't do enough to follow up with that in that sense," Capt. Roland said. "Every gun needs to have a serial number."

In response to this incident, McKinney police have provided officers instructions on how to find serial numbers on all types of guns. But had this policy been in place at the time, Capt. Roland said, it would have only helped identify the weapon, not much else.

Even though factory grips were on the Ruger found at the Shell station, Larry Byrd said he believes the same gun was used in both incidents. He said, "It was the only gun he had."

Questions he assumes people have asked themselves are on his mind.

"Why did the police give him the gun back? If the [probation] officer saw any signs of problems, why wasn't treatment recommended?"

He decided not to pass the blame because, as he said, "We're with him more than they are, and we didn't see any of that.

"It's just beyond us."

Attempts to reach Mr. Evans' family weren't successful.

Capt. Roland said the incident is just one more example of an offender reoffending.

If the gun had been turned over to the police, he said, it would have been destroyed. But it wasn't the department's call.

"Once again, we were responding to a court order," Capt. Roland emphasized.

He added that keeping confiscated guns doesn't prevent people from using guns in crimes since they can own other weapons.

Capt. Roland says there's very little police can do to keep guns off the streets. He points to the constitutional right to bear arms.

"Police departments are in the middle," he said. "We don't make the laws; we enforce them."

Mr. Avery defended his efforts to have his client's gun returned, saying whether a person gets a weapon back depends on the nature of the offense.

"For that type of offense [discharging a firearm within a municipality], it's not unusual," he said.

Will Marling, executive director for the National Organization for Victim Assistance, said in most jurisdictions, laws would require the return of the firearm.

Ladd Everitt, director of communications with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, was surprised to hear that police confiscated Mr. Byrd's gun in the first place.

"It's rare," he said. "Too often, people with serious long [criminal] records don't get their guns confiscated."

Mr. Byrd said, "I think we're all victims of the terrible tragedy, and we're all trying to find out why and we don't know why.

"And yeah, if he hadn't had the gun, maybe it wouldn't happen, but if it was a spur of the moment thing, yeah. But nobody saw that coming. They didn't. We didn't either. I don't know. Do you take guns away from everybody because there's a chance somebody might get shot? I don't know."