The little punk confessed- he told the FBI that he wanted to start a race war

[malaise]

- imagine that.
He couldn't pass 9th grade but he was going to start a race war.
He's going to have a lifetime in prison to think about his fugging race war.

He did have connections to white supremacy folks. Word is that his father did not buy the gun - he did - a known felon bought his gun. His father gave him the money to buy it for his birthday.

[madokie]

1. Lets let them weed 'm all out

Thanks for this.

That purchase would still be illegal, wouldn't it?

[MohRokTah]

2. Yep, and the gun store will lose its FFL at the very least.

The person who sold the gun may do prison time.

He had a felony beef that had not yet been adjudicated. The act of selling the weapon to him is a felony. That the weapon was then used to commit nine murders makes the peron who sold him the weapon an accessory to the crime.

[brer cat]

6. We can hope that he is charged

and convicted as an accessory. That would send a message!

[Ghost in the Machine]

3. That should take it to Federal Court under the Hate Crimes Law.... n/t

[Gothmog]

4. The shooter is a racist and terrorist

[HereSince1628]

5. Was he really a known felon when he purchased the gun?

What I've read is he was arrested twice, both times this year. Once in late Feb for possession of a class III narcotic without a prescription which may be a felony offense (but I don't know if it is), his other arrest was for trespass in a parkng lot, which doesn't seem like it would be a felony and it seems he received a ~$250 fine for that

I've not seen that he had been convicted on the narcotics possession charge, only that he had been arrested. Had his case moved through the court?

Is a person a felon simply by being arrested? Does the NICS database used for checks on gun purchases list a person based on a felony charge or is the person's name entered after conviction? I really don't know. It seems an argument could be made that they should.

The reason I ask is because in the wake of this attack there is going to a push for greater gun control, and the common control point for guns is background check at time of purchase. The entry of information and maintenance of that database, and how broadly it is used are the likely places greater control will be sought.

[malaise]

8. Good question

I really don't know the answer - I'm following a variety of media but who knows the truth yet.

[B2G]

10. He was to appear in court in August, so no, it hadn't.

And he wouldn't have been classified as a felon until convicted of a felony.

[HereSince1628]

16. Thanks.

So he wasn't in the NICS database. The system didn't actually fail

[Rex]

7. Ironically, he will get his race war inside prison.

Right before someone shanks him to death or he will have to be in a supermax, isolated for the rest of his life.

[malaise]

9. Wish I could feel sorry for him

WTF was he thinking??

[Rex]

12. He was thinking he would be The Chosen One to start a race war.

IMO, the little punk had this fantasy in his mind of glory and fame. Well he got the fame, now an infamous mass murderer. He won't survive very long in prison, I would bet good money on it.

[malaise]

14. Now that is narcissism on steroids

no wonder he was caught in under 15 hours

[KittyWampus]

11. i'm sure there's something like a "race war" in the prison he's heading to...

so he may not have started one on the outside, he'll be in one inside.

[Igel]

13. We having shifting stories on where he got the gun.

The grandfather's account may be correct.

Or it may be that they have ears and family loyalties. If the kid's father got him the gun, then somebody'll be coming after him--perhaps personally, morally, or legally. Depends on the details. But if the kid was just given money for his birthday, then the family is off the hook and it's all on the Dylann.

Somebody'll cough up the records from the gun purchase and that'll be conclusive proof.

Same for whether he is a felon or was a felon when the gun was purchased, so if a background check would have done any good at all. (Some seem to assume that background checks screen out everybody who shouldn't have a gun, using some nifty hi-tech "Majority Report" methodology. Not that they just look for specific records, which may be flawed.)

[localroger]

15. Know who else wanted to start a race war?

Charles Manson. Yep, the guy whose minions slaughtered a bunch of rich white people used the same justification. Nobody thought we should just take him at his word, though.