FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) – As the Texas community mourns, it is also questioning the police response to one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history.
The Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the 18-year-old shooter was inside the school for more than an hour before a tactical team confronted and killed him.
As more details emerge from the investigation, there is a renewed fight over gun control and safety legislation.
A recent Facebook post has spurred a discussion over gun laws in the United States.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala posted about his experience of buying an AR-15 style rifle at a local gun store in Flint.
“Walked in there and literally between when I walked in and when I walked out 14 minutes later, I had purchased a semi-automatic rifle similar to the AR 15, kind of a knockoff brand and 90 bullets and it took me again 14 minutes,” Mukkamala said.
A time frame that Jacob Klein from Duncan’s Outdoor Shop said should be a red flag.
“If they can purchase a gun in 15 minutes, they are flying through everything and that is a red flag for us. We try to take our time making sure that everything is good. We watch the customer very well so that we know that they’re actually buying it for them and not anybody else. Or anything like that,” Klein said.
Klein said purchasing a firearm should take about 30 to 45 minutes from the start of the sale to doing the paperwork.
He said to purchase a gun a person will need a driver’s license, fill out an application, and by federal law they have to go through a background check through the national instant criminal background check system or NICS.
“They have to be able to purchase a gun to even for us do a background check that the answer all these questions with all their information and then sign on the dotted line saying that they are legally allowed to buy firearms,” Klein said.
A process Mukkamala said should not be so quick.
“These impulsive purchases that people that are either mentally unstable, angry, you know got fired from their job, something happened at school. They to like this kid that just did this in Texas can walk in and walk out with that firearm,” Mukkamala said.
Mukkamala said while background checks are required in stores, it is legal for a person to sell a gun to another person.
“I legally sold that weapon the next day to somebody in the parking lot of the store and they didn’t get a background check,” Mukkamala said.
Mukkamala said he sold the gun to a police officer that he knows, but it is that easy for someone to get a gun.
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