El Paso shooting suspect said he ordered his AK-47 and ammo from overseas (Romania, Russia)

[Eugene]

Source: Texas Tribune

El Paso shooting suspect said he ordered his AK-47 and ammo from overseas

The white suspect in the racist massacre told El Paso police he bought the gun from Romania and picked it up at a Dallas-area store. Experts say guns imported from overseas are often cheaper than those from the U.S.

BY JOLIE MCCULLOUGH AUG. 28, 2019 21 HOURS AGO

When the alleged gunman walked into an El Paso Walmart earlier this month to carry out the worst massacre of Hispanic people in recent American history, he went in with an assault weapon he said he bought from Romania, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety report obtained by The Texas Tribune.

The white 21-year-old suspect in the shooting told El Paso police shortly after his arrest that the Romanian AK-47 was sent to a gun dealer near his home in Allen, a suburb outside of Dallas. He also said he bought a thousand rounds of ammunition from Russia.

El Paso police previously said that the AK-47 used in the shooting that killed 22 people was bought legally, but they did not provide any additional details about its purchase. In a manifesto published just before the shooting, the alleged shooter said the rifle was a WASR-10, a semi-automatic version of a Romanian military AK-47 weapon. The DPS report obtained by the Tribune includes a summary of the suspect's interview with police, providing more details on the weapon and the suspect's actions in the racist slaying where he said he “wanted to shoot as many Mexicans as possible.”

DPS referred questions about the report to the El Paso Police Department, which declined to comment on the investigation. The suspect's lawyer did not respond to request for comment.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/08/28/el-paso-shooting-gun-romania/

[Skittles]

1. OK I ordered a steak & kidney pie from England via Amazon

and it was intercepted by customs and DESTROYED

yet this guy can order a fucking AK-47??????????????????

WHAT. THE. EVER. LOVING. FUCK?????

[secondwind]

2. Weird times we live in......

[Meadowoak]

3. Probably free of charge, a gift from uncle Vlad.

[samir.g]

4. they send us trump and guns

[PoliticAverse]

5. As the article indicates it was actually a WASR-10 not an AK-47.

An AK-47 is an automatic rifle (i.e. a machine gun).

[mr_lebowski]

6. If accuracy is the point, the article indicates that the murderer claims it was a WASR-10

in his manifesto.

Not saying it WAS an AK-47 (in fact I rather doubt it was), but 'the article', as in, the author thereof ... did not state it wasn't.

[Abnredleg]

7. Still had to do the background check

Mail order guns are very common but they have to be shipped to a licensed gun dealer, who has to do a background check with the FBI.

This just points out the weakness of relying on background checks, since most people can pass them. Other measures need to be taken.

[mapol]

8. Background checks are not extensive enough, which is the problem.

First of all, rogue gun dealers who refuse to comply with the requirements of extensive background checks and waiting periods should be forced out of business.

Secondly, Congress should close the loophole that allows illegal gun sales to take place at gun shows.

Thirdly, gun dealers should make a point of not only screening prospective gun buyers, but refusing to sell firearms to anybody with a history of anger management issues, or a criminal record, when their name(s) come up on that dealer's computer.

Fourth: Mandatory waiting periods should be implemented.

[radical noodle]

9. Wait....

How is a gun dealer going to know if a person has a history of anger management issues? I think you may misunderstand how background checks work.


fords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/background-checks/background-check-procedures/

The single largest gap in the federal background check requirement is that unlicensed, private sellers are not required to conduct background checks. This means that, unless state law requires a background check for these sales, convicted felons, domestic abusers, and other ineligible people can legally buy guns—even though they would fail a background check if purchasing from an FFL. Fortunately, 21 states have closed the federal loophole to require unlicensed sellers to conduct background checks on some or all firearms purchasers. This issue is addressed in detail in our summary on Universal Background Checks.

NOTE: don't know why the link isn't right after it's posted, because it is correct in the preview. Try lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/ and go from there.

Another good site is:
https://www.thetrace.org/2015/07/gun-background-check-nics-guide/

[mapol]

10. There are clearly too many loopholes in the background checks that need to be closed.

Obviously, the background checks aren't thorough enough, since people like the VA Tech Shooter, Dylan Roof, Alanza Adams, to name a few have managed to obtain firearms despite having a history of mental health problems, drug use charges, etc. Those loopholes need to be closed--immediately!