Mom claims Sacramento airport suspect's depression altered mood

SACRAMENTO, CA - The mother of a Montana man accused of attempting to bring weapons through airport security in Sacramento says her son was suffering from depression.

Investigators arrested Harold Waller after TSA officials found guns inside two carry on bags. Deputies say he also had a gun on him. 

Waller’s mother, Helen, says her son started to suffer from depression several years ago after a divorce.

Doctors prescribed several different types of anti-depressants for him over the years, but the medication seemed to make his mood worse, she said.

“It doesn’t matter what his intentions were. He’s told me he feels the need to defend himself and protect himself. But it seems that he’s over-reacted,” Helen Waller said.

When asked who he was defending himself from, Helen says it was all an illusion. Her son started to receive detox treatment at a facility in Sacramento. She said she has no idea why he was going to Phoenix.