Investigators probing the random killing of three people in the town of Istres, near Marseille, believe the suspected killer bought the Kalashnikov rifle he used in the shooting over the internet, a report in the French media claimed on Friday.
One of the victims, a man thought to be in his sixties, was shot dead at the wheel of his car, the other two were male pedestrians, both local men aged 35 and 45 respectively.
A witness to the incident described how the 19-year-old suspect had walked around with his rifle poised "as if he was out hunting" and might easily have killed more people.
The suspect was arrested not far from the scene and remains in police custody. French radio RTL reported on Friday that a source close to the investigation had suggested that he had bought the military style weapon online.
If this is confirmed it will put more pressure on France’s Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who visited the scene of the shooting on Thursday. Valls has vowed to crack down on the growing problem of gun crime in France.
Internet gun sales, what do you think?
Please leave a comment.
Not my country.
ReplyDelete"Police sources said the weapons enthusiast had bought the deactivated rifle on the Internet and had been able to get it working."
ReplyDeletePerhaps it would be more accurate to say internet sales of deactivated guns. There are no details about how it was deactivated, but the Kalashnikov family is mostly pieces of sheet metal bent into shape and spot welded and rivited together.
Meeting someone on the internet from whom you buy a gun from in person is not the same as buying a gun online. I doubt France has more lax laws than the USA in that regard. Over here, two parties can meet in person to conduct the transaction provided they live in the same state, or a dealer can ship a gun to a local FFL for the buyer to pick up and fill out the 4473. Person to person shipping is forbidden- no matter the reason. There is no "one-click-shopping" where a gun shows up at your door like you are buying a book from Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThis could be your new crusade, Mikeb. Go save France from the mythical scourge of "loose gun laws," and leave the free world the hell alone.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't France have laws against online gun buying? Did the 19 year old have to submit to a background check before receiving the gun? Surely this is already covered under French law, so I have a hard time believing this story is true.
ReplyDelete