The store that sold the AR-15 used to kill 17 in Parkland has closed – By Gene Marks (Boston Globe) / Feb 19 2018
The Florida gun shop that sold the AR-15 assault weapon used to kill 17 people in a Parkland high school last week has shut its doors.
The owners of Sunrise Tactical Supply, the Coral Springs shop that authorities said in November sold suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz the AR-15, has been ‘‘closed indefinitely,’’ according to the Miami Herald. Cruz was arrested after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which also left 14 people wounded.
The owners of the small business, located in a strip mall near the school, said they ensured that Cruz had filled out all of the required paperwork which included his driver’s license and assurances that he did not suffer from mental illness. The store owners said, through their attorney, that Cruz only purchased the semi-automatic rifle off the shelf and did not purchase any accessories, modifications, or ammunition so as not to raise eyebrows.
Both owners are, according to their attorney, distraught.
‘‘The tremendous sense of responsibility in this situation and just horribleness that they feel that one of their weapons fell into the hands of this maniac,’’ the attorney said in the Miami Herald report. ‘‘They are scared — not just for their safety — but more importantly about how the reaction is going to be for the rest of the community as they try to reenter it.’’
The Daily Mail also reported that Cruz apparently purchased other assault weapons from another local gun store — Gun World of South Florida — since 2016, but not the one used in the killing spree.
‘‘He was not a regular customer of ours,’’ Kim Waltuch the owner of Gun World told the Daily Mail. ‘‘We went through the process of the background checks which is the only way we release a firearm. He was immediately approved.’’ Waltuch said the store has been raising money for victims of the shooting.
PB/TK – Everything was bought legally so where does the conversation go from here.
