FBI: Dylann Roof Should Not Have Been Sold Gun
FBI director James B. Comey has confirmed that a flawed background check allowed the suspect to purchase the weapon used in the mass slaying at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., last month.
Dylann Roof has been charged with murder in the church shootings. (Chuck Burton / AP)
The FBI has acknowledged that Dylann Roof, accused of killing nine parishioners in a historically black South Carolina church last month, should have been prevented from buying the gun used in the attack.
Roof was able to purchase the gun only because of flaws in the FBI’s background-check system, FBI Director James B. Comey said Friday.
The New York Times reports:
A loophole in the system and an error by the F.B.I. allowed the man, Dylann Roof, to buy the .45-caliber handgun despite having previously admitted to drug possession, officials said. Mr. Roof first tried to buy the gun on April 11, from a dealer in South Carolina. The F.B.I., which conducts background checks for gun sales, did not give the dealer approval to proceed with the purchase because the bureau needed to do more investigating about Mr. Roof’s s criminal history.
Under federal law, the F.B.I. has three days to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to deny the purchase. If the bureau cannot come up with an answer, the purchaser can return to the dealer and buy the gun.
In the case of Mr. Roof, the F.B.I. failed to gain access to a police report in which he admitted to having been in possession of a controlled substance, which would have disqualified him from purchasing the weapon. The F.B.I. said that confusion about where the arrest had occurred had prevented it from acquiring the arrest record in a timely fashion.
Mr. Roof’s application was not resolved within the three-day limit because the F.B.I. was still trying to get the arrest record, and he returned to store and was sold the gun.
Many major national gun dealers, like Walmart, will not sell the weapon to the buyer if they do not have an answer from F.B.I., but many smaller stores will.
“We are all sick this happened,” said the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey. “We wish we could turn back time.”
Read the full article here.
–Posted by Roisin Davis
As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
Race
Surging interest from visitors is contributing to a more honest telling of the city’s role in the American slave trade. But tensions are flaring as South Carolina lawmakers restrict race-based teachings.
The "Last Week Tonight" host argues that removing the racist symbols is a way to come to terms with American history.
It's a key moment for Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as they both hover within clinching range of their party's nomination. Read our updated live blog coverage throughout Sunday night's showdown in Charleston, S.C.
Students at the University of Mississippi have been organizing to force the removal of the state flag from campus.
Maybe now is a good time for the president to get a grip on America's gun problem.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.