CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Authorities are investigating a gun store located three miles away from the scene of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could be seen going in at Sunrise Tactical Supply in Coral Springs. The owner of the store could also be seen inside going through records.
Police 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used an AR-15 rifle purchased at the store to shoot and kill 17 people at the high school the day before.
Police said Cruz abandoned the gun at the school after the shooting.
Cruz purchased the gun legally in February 2017. Investigators were able to track it to the store through its serial number.
AR-15s are easy to obtain. There is a three-day waiting period in Florida. Customers are given a background check and if they haven’t been charged with a felony or a domestic abuse conviction, they can buy the assault rifle.
The background check also looks to see if someone is mentally defective by the courts. However, that is simply a box that you check off, and Cruz checked off that he was fine.
The attorney for the store’s owners said Cruz passed the background check.
“The Morrisons sold a lawful weapon to someone who was mentally ill, someone who fell through the cracks, someone who was not held accountable for their actions when they were expelled from school,” the attorney said, “someone who was not put into any sort of database and someone who essentially allowed to go unchecked before walking into this store and purchasing a firearm.”
The store has been closed indefinitely. It is unclear when it will reopen.
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