Where Did the Las Vegas Shooter Get His Guns
Federal investigators have traced Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock's rifles and handguns to at least eight gun shops in California and Nevada, the Bay Area News Group has learned.
Some were big box chains. Some were mom-and-pop operations. But what's clear so far is that all of the firearms in the two states were purchased legally by Paddock, a person familiar with the investigation said.
Authorities are having more difficulty tracking guns that may have been purchased at gun shows where one private citizen sells a weapon to another person, often without a background check, the source said.
Investigators are also having trouble tracing bump stocks, because they do not have serial numbers that allow them to track when the devices change hands. Bump stocks allow gun owners to convert semi-automatic weapons to perform like machine guns.
Just how Paddock amassed such a large collection of high-powered weaponry is simple: There's no limit on how many weapons people can own, as long as they pass background checks. And the source said all of Paddock's purchases from the California and Nevada stores were by the books.
Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said this past week Paddock purchased guns from stores in Nevada, California, Utah and Texas, accumulating an arsenal of 47 guns. Twenty-three of those firearms were found inside Paddock's Mandalay Bay hotel room, from which he fired down on a crowd of people enjoying a concert, killing 58 and seriously injuring hundreds.
Nineteen firearms, along with explosives and thousands of bullets, were found at Paddock's home in Mesquite, Nevada, authorities said. The rest of the weapons were located at a house in Verdi, just west of Reno near the California border.
Paddock bought 33 of the guns over the past year and at least 12 of the guns in the hotel had been outfitted with bump stocks, authorities have said.
Many of the guns found in the hotel room were traced to a Sportsman's Warehouse store in Reno, the source said.
A manager at the large chain — which sells guns, hunting gear, knives, boats and other outdoor equipment — declined to talk to a reporter by phone Friday. The manager referred questions to the corporate office — which did not return calls or emails.
A Bay Area News Group reporter was also turned down for an interview Saturday during a visit to the huge, cavernous store, where deer heads are mounted on every wall.
Almost three miles north on Interstate 580 at Reno Guns & Range, Paddock bought a rifle and handgun in December, according to the source. He also had his Colt M-4 assault weapon serviced at the store.
Employees at the store declined to comment to a reporter Saturday in the small, sparsely decorated store, with loud thuds booming from the next door shooting range. Emails to the managers were not immediately returned.
Last October, Paddock pulled off Interstate 80 in Rocklin and bought two shotguns and a rifle at an enormous Bass Pro Shop store, according to the source. Despite living in Nevada since 2014, according to public records, Paddock used a valid California driver's license from when he lived in Cerritos, in Southern California, the source said.
To buy guns in California, a valid California driver's license or state ID is necessary.
Last fall, Paddock bought a rifle at the Las Vegas Bass Pro Shop, but none of the guns purchased at either Bass Pro Shop were found in the hotel room, the source said.
Store employees at both Bass Pro Shop locations referred a Bay Area News Group reporter to their corporate office, which did not return calls or emails requesting comment.
When Discount Firearms, a large weapons store in Las Vegas, learned about the deadly shooting, it contacted authorities and told them that Paddock had bought a Daniel Defense rifle from them. That gun was found in the hotel room with a bump stock added to it, the source said.
A store employee told the Bay Area News Group that the owner told employees not to speak to the media, and emails to the storerequesting comment were not returned.
The source said Paddock also bought a shotgun and Smith & Wesson pistol back in 2000 at an undisclosed Southern California store.
In Paddock's hometown of Mesquite, general manager Christopher Sullivan of Guns & Guitars said in a statement to The Associated Press that Paddock showed no signs of being unfit to buy guns when he purchased several from the store.
At New Frontier Armory in Las Vegas, owner David Famiglietti told Newsweek that Paddock bought a shotgun and rifle there last spring for $3,500. He said his employee and Paddock talked about how the customer wanted to use them for a tactical gun competition.
"My staff takes their job very seriously, and if there were any red flags during this transaction, like any other, it would be halted immediately," Famiglietti told CNN.
In Utah, Chris Michel, the owner of Dixie GunWorx in St. George, told KTVX-TV he sold Paddock a shotgun and there were no alarms.
"I didn't think there was a problem with him," Michel said. "He came in. He wanted a firearm. He knew exactly what he was looking for. He just wanted a shotgun."
Staff writer Casey Tolan, reporting from Reno, contributed to this story.
Where Did the Las Vegas Shooter Get His Guns
Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/07/where-las-vegas-shooter-stephen-paddock-bought-his-guns-it-was-all-legal/
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