Police: St. Louis shooter legally bought rifle from private seller after earlier sale blocked
The gunman who killed two people at a St. Louis high school earlier this week legally bought the rifle he used from a private seller after his earlier effort to purchase a firearm was blocked due to a background check, police said on Thursday.
Nineteen-year-old Orlando Harris shot and killed two people and injured four more at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, Mo., on Monday. Harris was also killed during an ensuing shoot-out with police.
Harris, who was armed with an AR-15 style rifle and more than 600 rounds of ammunition, initially attempted to buy a firearm from a licensed dealer but was blocked by an FBI background check, police said on Thursday.
The 19-year-old then sought out and bought a rifle from a private seller. St. Louis police said there is no existing law that prevents such a sale.
A little over a week before the shooting, Harris’s mother called the police and asked them to confiscate a gun found in his room. However, police said they did not have “clear authority” to seize the rifle because Missouri does not have a red flag law. Red flag laws allow police or family members to petition courts to order the seizure of a person’s firearms if they are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
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