The gunman who killed five people in Louisville bought his AR-15 legally. Other mass shooters have, too.
There’s a certain falsehood about gun violence that’s proliferated in some conservative circles. The argument goes like this: More gun laws won’t stop shooting deaths, because the firearms being used to commit these horrible acts of violence are often obtained unlawfully.
In the wake of the Uvalde attack, where 21 people were slaughtered, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott repeated this talking point, asserting that it’s not new firearm restrictions that are needed, but rather more enforcement of the laws already on the books. The fact is this completely ignores the grim reality of how most mass shootings have unfolded. According to data compiled by the National Institute of Justice, the Justice Department’s research arm, 77 percent of the mass shootings between 1966 to 2019 were carried out with guns that were legally purchased. And that trend seems to extend to more recent bouts of violence, including this month’s shooting in Allen, Texas. Here’s a closer look at the weapons that were legally obtained to commit some of the most devastating shootings of the past couple of years.
Recent Mass Shootings Involving Legally Purchased Guns
Allen, Texas
The shooter who stormed a shopping mall in Allen purchased all eight of the firearms he brought with him legally. It took him just four minutes to kill eight people and wound seven others with this arsenal.
Louisville, Kentucky
On April 10, a shooter opened fire within a bank in downtown Louisville, killing five people and wounding at least eight others. The shooter, Connor Sturgeon, 25, wielded an AR-15, which he legally bought just six days before he gunned down his co-workers.
Nashville, Tennessee
Audrey Hale hid an arsenal of seven firearms at their parents’ house — all of which were obtained legally. Hale, who was under care for an emotional disorder, used three of those weapons (an AR-15 style rifle and two handguns) in last month’s shooting at the Covenant School. They fatally shot three children and three adults.
Half Moon Bay, California
Chunli Zhao, 66, lawfully owned the handgun he used to kill seven people this January, authorities say. Zhao, a farm worker, allegedly gunned down four people at a mushroom farm and killed three more victims at a nearby trucking business.
Chesapeake, Virginia
Last November, a supervisor at a Walmart opened fire in the store’s break room, killing six of his co-workers. He used a 9 mm handgun that he legally bought just hours before the onslaught.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Anderson Lee Aldrich opened fire on the patrons of Club Q, a gay nightclub, in November using an assault-style rifle to kill five people and injure many more. Authorities say Aldrich was able to buy the gun legally, even though he had been previously arrested in an alleged bomb threat incident. Aldrich apparently evaded the state’s red-flag law, which allows family or law enforcement to ask a judge that a person’s guns be seized if it’s believed that they’re a risk to themselves or others.
Highland Park, Illinois
Robert E. Crimo III legally acquired five guns over 2020 and 2021, including the semiautomatic rifle he would fire more than 70 rounds into a crowd at a Fourth of July parade. Police said Crimo’s father sponsored his application for a gun permit months after the gunman threatened a family member, saying he was going to “kill everyone.”
Uvalde, Texas
Just after his 18th birthday, Salvador Ramos bought two AR platform rifles and 375 rounds of ammunition. He then stormed inside Robb Elementary School and opened fire, killing 19 children and two teachers.
“The idea that an 18-year-old could walk into a store and buy weapons of war, designed and marketed to kill is, I think, just wrong,” President Biden said after the tragedy. “It just violates common sense.”
