Question - Where Did That 19 Year Old Get The Money For AR-15?

[TheMastersNemesis]

These weapons are relatively expensive. How could a 19 year old get the kind of money it takes to buy the gun? Was he given a ""student' discount. And how did he afford the ammunition for it?

[Kaleva]

1. Interesting question.

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. No One Has Been Asking That Question.

[OneBlueDotBama]

2. Estate of Mother

800K

[Kaleva]

4. Which isn't available for a few years yet.

[LisaL]

10. Apparently he had access to some of the money.

He also had a job at the Dollar Store.

[TheMastersNemesis]

5. I Had Heard About The Estate, But What About Other Students.

[Old Vet]

17. Well thats the first Ive heard of that, Are you telling me this kid was waiting for 800 large?

So it was just a matter of time he would of been a wealthy young man? And he gave the money up to kill people, This story just gets more confusing on a daily basis.

[MichMary]

26. Yup.

And now his lawyers are going to get it all.

[Grammy23]

53. No. I think that demonstrates how really messed up

this guy’s thinking was. Under normal circumstances, a 19 year old poised to inherit nearly a million smackeroos on his 21st birthday would be busy planning what they intended to do with it. Or at least day dreaming about it, if not actually PLANNING.

But this was no ordinary 19 year old. He was a tragedy waiting to happen. A monster in the body of a kid you’d pass in Wal-Mart without a second thought. They DO walk among us. Every. Single. Day.

Until and unless we get serious about how to handle people with serious mental health issues that are a threat to society, we will continue to see tragedies like the one Cruz brought. Hand in hand with that is getting serious about our gun laws that allow someone like Cruz to easily and legally purchase his lethal weapons.

We are fooling ourselves if we think we can keep doing the same thing, the same way and expecting a different outcome. 🤔

[tblue37]

6. He had a job, and might have had some savings from before his mom died.

Maybe the family that took him in didn't make him pay anything toward room and boiard.

[DownFromTheMountain]

13. oh, ok, what was he doing?

Thx for the update, I had not seen a job..

[MichMary]

28. He was working at a

dollar store. He wasn't making a ton of $$$, but if his expenses were low, he could have afforded guns.

The idea that there is some kind of a "student discount" is asinine.

[tblue37]

65. He worked at the Dollar Store. nt

[DownFromTheMountain]

7. And the ammo?

And lunch money, Starbucks cash, gas ..
.he was unemployed right?

[John1956PA]

8. And the gun safe, bullet-roof vest, and gas mask.

I do not think Nikolas Cruz owned a car. The family with which he was living helped him to find his job at the dollar store.

I have also wondered why two families were willing to take in this troubled young man. The first family put him out after he threatened to shoot their son.

[LisaL]

9. No, not right. He worked at the Dollar store.

[Hoyt]

11. His adoptive dad is a gunner, approved of his son's guns, and might have helped him.

Sure wouldn't be the first dad -- adoptive or otherwise -- to support his kids' gun habits and encourage his descension into the gun culture.

[Kaleva]

14. His adoptive father died of a heart attack years ago when Cruz was 5 years old

[LisaL]

16. Many years ago.

[Kaleva]

18. Yes. Just editied the title of my post.

[Kaleva]

21. According to one article, Cruz watched his adoptive father die of a heart attack

"By the time he was 3, he was diagnosed with developmental delays. By the time he was 6, he'd suffered the trauma of witnessing his father's death. "

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-nikolas-cruz-life-20180220-story.html

[Hoyt]

29. No, his father died of heart attack. I should have said "host dad" rather than "adoptive

father," but it's pretty much the same thing here. The host dad is a gunner, and protector of the 2nd Amendment and all that BS.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5414039/Dad-hosted-Nikolas-Cruz-right-gun.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz-snead-host-family-speaks/

[Kaleva]

34. The man you refer to is a "Dad" but not in anyway to Cruz

The man and his wife are parents of a former classmate of Cruz's who asked his parents if Cruz could live with them.

[obamanut2012]

46. Owning a gun doesn't mmake you a gunner

The father of his friend who let Cruz and his brother move in is not a gunner. Just stop. I live here, I have a coworker who is friends with this man, none of this is true.

And, since when is someone's dad the same as a man who lets you stay there for a month or so?

"Adoptive" dad, too, really??? HE WAS HIS DAD!!!!!!

[B2G]

55. Cruz bought the gun many months before he moved in with them. nt

[LisaL]

59. They just let him move in with bunch of guns. Didn't even know how many he had, by their own

admission.

[MichMary]

61. And required that he purchase a gun safe

They thought there was only one key, and that they had possession of it. Turned out that there was more than one key, and Cruz had one. They thought they had control of the situation. They didn't.

[lostnfound]

19. His adoptive dad died many years prior.

According to this he bought seven rifles legally and three illegally.
Shotgun last year, AK47 last month
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5412507/Florida-school-gunman-bought-seven-rifles-including-AK-47.html

Interesting to me that the Us media doesn’t delve into the specifics of who sold the weapons the way this article does.

[Hoyt]

30. Should have said "host dad," who Cruz was living with and host dad is a gunner and supportive

of Cruz's gun love. Fact is, many of these mass shooters have parents who are supportive of -- and introduce their kids into -- the gun culture.

[lostnfound]

33. He was only there for a month or two, so cant picture he was much of an influence

Most of Cruz’s gun purchases pre-dated that.

[LisaL]

56. Three months.

But Cruz already had guns when he moved in. He was allowed to move into the house with a bunch of weapons.

[obamanut2012]

43. None of this is true

WTF

There is enough wrong in all of this so you don't have to not eb factual.

JFC I live here. Just stop.

[Hoyt]

63. Host dad or adoptive dad, it's pretty much same in this context. Host dad is a gunner and was fine

Last edited Mon Feb 26, 2018, 02:22 PM - Edit history (1)

with Cruz keeping a bunch of guns, ammo, and lethal accessories around.

[atreides1]

12. Smith & Wesson M&P 15 .223

Goes for about $739.00 and 500 rounds of ammunition sells for about $220.00!

Cruz passed the background check because he had no criminal history and denied any mental illness!


Besides AR-15 rifles are priced between $570 - $2300, depending on what make you want to buy!

[dembotoz]

15. mom left a nice estate so we can assume he was not in poverty

so it seems he was not the oliver twist orphan boy.

i have 2 younger sons....couple years older than this kid...

they have more disposable cash than i do.... and while the estate would not pass to him til later i can assume there were provisions to ensure he was not destitute.

this is a nicer neighborhood
drive past some high school parking lots.....the joke is...you can tell which cars belong to the teachers cause they drive the clunkers.

[sarah FAILIN]

20. I read the transcript of the FBI call from his cousin

He got the Moms debit card when she died.

He was also heavy into ISIS and Trump. Go figure...

The cousin said in January he had the mind of a child but was obsessed with killing. Started with animals then talk of killing people.


I can get the link on my lunch if anyone wants to read it.

[lunasun]

32. He was anti Muslim . That is the context of the mention of ISIS on his social media

Many reports tried to use the mention to claim he was interested in ISIS but it was within derogatory comments he posted

[sarah FAILIN]

54. This is just from his cousins statement

Maybe it was misunderstood

[LisaL]

57. He was into Nazis, not ISIS.

The Nazi symbol was found on his book bag. Caller to FBI thought sometimes Cruz dressed like a ninja or a jihadi fighter. But that doesn't mean he was into ISIS.

[sarah FAILIN]

60. Maybe I misunderstood what I read. Here is the link

It is a website full of rw nuts, but they had this posted.

http://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_151966470690019&key=0eff82a158b9bcd735539ea921a97f93&libId=je4g8njs010009tm000MA9kilr7is&cuid=f-&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.network54.com%2FForum%2F677849%2Fthread%2F1519490839%2Flast-1519607878%2FView%2BThread&v=1&out=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fdocuments%2FFBI-transcript-02-23-2018.pdf&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.network54.com%2FForum%2F677849&title=GENERAL%20FORUM%3A%20Transcript%20of%20warning%20call%20to%20the%20FBI%20about%20Nikolas%20Cruz.&txt=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fdocuments%2FFBI-transcript-02-23-2018.pdf

[aikoaiko]

22. What does it matter? Decent ARs are between $500-$1000, and ammo is cheap

When living with parents/caregivers, it is pretty easy for kids to save up money.

I bought a $5000 car at 17 years of age.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

23. Loans from hangers on?

My friend inheritance of 67,000 could not get it while 17 but those who knew would buy things for him.

[Iggo]

24. Where does a 19 year old get the money for a car?

Those things are expensive.

[John1956PA]

25. I do not think that Nikolas Cruz owned a vehicle. n/t

[obamanut2012]

42. He didn't

[LisaL]

58. I don't believe he knew how to drive.

[Act_of_Reparation]

27. You can get an AR as cheaply as $650.

All he'd have to do is put it on a credit card.

[obamanut2012]

41. Way cheaper than that -- used ones for $250-300

New ones $400-450.

[hexola]

31. He also rented a truck and bought a gun safe

Gun safes are not cheap - 500 bucks easy...and rented a truck to move it.

[Decoy of Fenris]

35. A quick google search found me several for around $350. Ammo would be another... fifty bucks? n/t

[bottomofthehill]

38. looks like the smith & wesson he bought could be purchased for as little as $499 plus tax.

[Decoy of Fenris]

40. Possibly. That's less than two weeks of a summer job. n/t

[bottomofthehill]

45. Two weeks could buy the gun, the safe, and the ammo

Depending on if it is actually a safe and not just a gun cabinet.....


https://grabagun.com/smith-and-wesson-mp15-sport-ii-5-56mm-16.html

[Decoy of Fenris]

47. Yup. Then there's the answer for the OP. n/t

[Kirk Lover]

36. So would I be able to just go to Florida and buy one? n/t

[obamanut2012]

39. Yes -- our gun laws here suck

[Kirk Lover]

49. That alone should greatly concern the whole country. That me, someone with no experience

and from another state no less, just waltz in and purchase one of these firearms with zero training, zero instruction, zero certification.

That is clearly very very wrong.

[Lee-Lee]

52. If your not a Florida resident

And your states laws allow you to buy one then you would go to a dealer, fill out the form, they call in the background check and if you pass you pay and get your gun.

It wouldn’t be legal to dona private party purchase if your not a resident of that state. And you can’t buy a handgun even from a dealer out of state. And you can’t buy in FL if the item wouldn’t be legal in your state of residence.

[oneshooter]

66. Yes you can purchase it, but you can not recieve it in Florida

You can go back to New York with the receipt, find a FFL Dealer close to you and have him send the shipping costs plus a copy of his FFL(signed in ink) to the shop you found it at. That dealer will ship it to the FFL Dealer who will call you. You will then need to fill out a FORM 4473, pass a background check and any other state required checks. After that you must wait any required "cooling off period" as mandated by state law.

THEN and only THEN will you be able to pick up your new firearm.

Simple

[obamanut2012]

37. They don't cost that much

Especially for a kid who has a job and isn't paying rent or a car payment and insurance.

You can get one for $250-300.

[crazycatlady]

44. Kid had a job

Granted a job at the dollar store isn't big bucks. But let's assume he makes $10/hour (I think FL's minimum wage is less but $10 makes the math easy).

Assuming that he's PT (most retail employees are) and gets on average 25 hours a week. That's $250/week before taxes. If this kid was living rent free with parents, he has very little expenses. In a 4 week month, he makes $1000. With little living expenses, he can save up for a $650 purchase in a little more than a month.

[bottomofthehill]

48. There are "Saturday Night Specials" in the assault rifle catagory too

[PatSeg]

50. On a video clip

of AR-15 weapons in a store, I noticed the price tags and they ranged from $1800 to $2000. I also wondered where a lot of these young people got the money to buy such guns.

[FreepFryer]

51. There are LEGO sets that cost more. (n/t)

[DVRacer]

62. Chances are he was getting Social Security

When his father died he was probably entitled to survivors benefits of around $1000 a month.

[sarah FAILIN]

64. There was a wrongful death suit

His cousin said he would start getting 25k/year I think in the call to the fbi