by The first reports from Charleston said that the Emanuel AME Church murderer was given his pistol as gift by his father. The implication was that it was a private transaction. This seems to be incorrect.
A report today from CNN had this to say about the purchase of the weapon used to commit the murders.
One key part of this horrific scheme — the weapon — came in April, when (the murderer) bought a .45-caliber handgun at a Charleston gun store, the two law enforcement officials told Perez and Bruer from CNN, the first network to report this development. His grandfather says that (the murderer) was given “birthday money” and that the family didn’t know what (the murderer) did with it.
As with most media reports after a horrific event, the first reports are usually in error.
If CNN and the law enforcement officials are correct in that the murderer purchased the firearm at a gun store, this indicates that a NICS check was performed and he was cleared to purchase the firearm. This is just like the murders at Virginia Tech, Tucson, Santa Barbara, and Aurora where the murderers all cleared a NICS check.
While the Shadow may know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, I certainly don’t. I just know it exists and that we should be able to protect ourselves from it.
