Police: Aurora Attacker Shouldn't Have Had a Gun

Gary Martin had a 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 16, 2019 12:16 PM CST
Police: Aurora Attacker Shouldn't Have Had a Gun
Representatives of law enforcement agencies attend a news conference Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, in Aurora, Ill., after shootings at a manufacturing company in the city.   (Patrick Kunzer/Daily Herald via AP)

Police say the fired worker who killed five people at a warehouse in Aurora, Illinois, was able to buy the gun he used because an initial background check didn't catch that he had a prior felony conviction in Mississippi, the AP reports. Aurora police Chief Kristin Ziman said Saturday that Gary Martin was issued a firearm owner's identification card in January of 2014 after he passed the initial background check. She says he bought the Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun on March 11, 2014, and that his 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi wasn't flagged until he applied for a concealed carry permit five days later. That application process includes vetting using a more rigorous digital fingerprinting system. (More shooting stories.)

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