We don’t yet know the motive behind yesterday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., but here is something we do know:
According to law enforcement sources, the weapons used, .223-caliber assault-style rifles, were purchased legally. According to The New York Times:
Two of the guns recovered were bought by one of the suspects killed in the shootout, and the other two were bought by a third person who is not considered a suspect, said a senior federal law enforcement official, who was spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We believe all four were purchased legally, but are still taking a close look at the two firearms bought by the” person who is not a suspect, the official said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that it had traced all four guns, and that two were purchased legally by someone linked to the investigation. But neither the senior official nor the bureau would identify either buyer by name, nor say which two weapons were bought by a suspect, or where they were bought.
Officials said the two assault rifles were variants of the AR-15, the semiautomatic version of the military M-16 rifle; one was made by DPMS Panther Arms, and the other was a Smith & Wesson M&P model, a designation meaning military and police. The senior law enforcement official said one handgun was made by Llama, and the other by Smith and Wesson.
Want to know where to buy a couple of guns like this yourself? Shop online at Walmart and save.
Or if that might raise too many questions, check out a site like Armslist.com, the online firearms marketplace, where the terms of use amount to an honor system for essentially unregulated gun sales:
I understand that ARMSLIST DOES NOT become involved in transactions between parties and does not certify, investigate, or in any way guarantee the legal capacity of any party to transact.
I am responsible for obeying all applicable enforcement mechanisms, including, but not limited to federal, state, municipal, and tribal statutes, rules, regulations, ordinances, and judicial decisions, including compliance with all applicable licensing requirements.
I will not use Armslist.com for any illegal purpose.
If I am at all unsure about firearm sales or transfers, I will contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive at 1-800-ATF-GUNS and visit the ATF website at http://www.atf.gov.
Need some hollow-point rounds for that shiny new (to you) gun? That’s easy and legal too. Check out freedommunitions.com where a case of 1,000 Rem 77 gr. hollow-point boat-tail rounds can be yours for under $600. If you want to comparison shop, try bulkammo.com.
How about high-capacity magazines to maximize rounds on target and minimize reloading time? Gunmagwarehouse.com is the place for you. Here you can pick up a 42-round tan polymer magazine for your .223-caliber AR-15 for the low sale price of only $7.92.
OK, so you’ve got your guns and ammo, now, like the San Bernardino shooters, you need tactical clothes to complete the look. Rothco.com has you covered. And so you can stay in the fight as long as possible, armysurplusworld.com or govx.com can provide you with body armor you can trust.
After the terrorist attacks in Paris in November, I did an interview with one of the Detroit news radio stations, and one of the questions they asked was whether something like that could happen here. I was asked the same question after the Charlie Hebdo attack.
Of course it can. Everything you need to carry out an attack can be easily, and legally, acquired in the United States. We make it easy.