Jason Hamilton

MOSCOW, Idaho - Police say that a search of the home of Jason Hamilton, blamed for fatally shooting three people and himself last weekend, turned up an Aryan Nations flag and written materials from the white supremacist group.

Moscow assistant police chief David Duke says Hamilton's ties to the group, formerly based in North Idaho, were found when federal agents and Latah County sheriff's deputies searched his home.

The 36-year-old janitor, who moved from the Boise area a few years ago, fatally shot himself in a Presbyterian church after killing his wife, a police officer and a church sexton and wounding three other men, authorities said.

Duke says all the victims were white.

The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., citing unidentified sources, reported on its Web site that Hamilton had an Aryan Nations membership card, as well as a flag, and had been a dues-paying member since 2000.

Hamilton reportedly told a mental health professional he would take a large number of people with him if he were to commit suicide, but later recanted that comment. He was placed in protective custody on a court-ordered 72-hour mental health hold after a failed suicide attempt in February.

Two years ago Hamilton was arrested for domestic violence against a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. He and sentenced to two years probation.

Hamilton was in court on May 15, but was released on the condition he get counseling and not possess weapons. He had received two mental health evaluations.

The shootings over the weekend raised questions whether more should have been done to curb Hamilton after he told someone he would take a lot of people with him if he commited suicide.

But mental health experts say the comment may have raised a red flag, but was not specific enough to have him involuntarily committed to a mental hospital.

Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch had a sergeant wounded and a communications office and parking lot shot up, says the shootings were an aberration.

Rausch says that it is difficult to restrict people's movements in a free society until they break the law.

Jonathan Stanley of the Treatment Advocacy Center in Virginia, says many states' laws are lacking on involuntary mental commitments. He says it should be easier to commit someone to prevent crimes and to allow patients to receive mental health treatment.

Neither Rausch nor Moscow Police Chief Daniel Weaver blame blame mental health professionals or courts for allowing Hamilton to remain free.

Weaver says the recent killing of a University of Idaho student and the mass murders at Virginia Tech show how difficult it is to know when someone who is mentally ill will cross the line.