The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area bought his gun just hours before the attack — no waiting required. They are just the latest suspected U.S. mass shooters to obtain guns because of limited firearms laws, background check lapses or law enforcement’s failure to heed warnings of concerning behavior. In the wake of the shootings, which together left 18 people dead, President Joe Biden renewed calls for stronger gun laws — including banning assault weapons and expanding background checks. Many Republicans oppose the measures, and the National Rifle Association blasted the discussions as a rush to “politicize this horrific situation.” A look at how suspects in recent mass shootings obtained guns, based on police accounts, court documents and contemporaneous reporting: BOULDER, COLORADO: MARCH 22, 2021. 10 DEAD. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, an assault weapon with a 30-round capacity, on March 16, police said. Days earlier, a judge struck down an ordinance that banned assault rifles and high-capacity magazines in Boulder, citing a state law prohibiting local gun bans. A lawsuit challenging Boulder’s ordinances had the backing of the NRA, which said the ruling gave “law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate.” Alissa was prone to sudden rage and was convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to probation for attacking a high school classmate, law enforcement officials and former associates said. It was not immediately known where Alissa purchased his gun or whether that incident came up on a background check. Had he been convicted of a felony, his purchase would’ve been barred under federal law. Alissa is charged with 10 counts of murder. ATLANTA: MARCH 16, 2021. 8 DEAD Robert Aaron Long purchased a 9 mm handgun just hours before going on a shooting rampage at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area, police said. A lawyer for the gun shop said it complies with federal background check laws. Georgia, like the majority of states, has no waiting period to obtain a gun. Long claimed to have a “sex addiction,” police said, and he spent time at an addiction recovery facility last year. Federal law bans guns for people who are “unlawful users of or addicted to a controlled substance” or who’ve been court ordered to a mental health or substance abuse treatment facility, but doesn’t mention treatment for other compulsions as a barrier to ownership. Long is charged with eight counts of murder. MIDLAND, TEXAS, AUG. 31, 2019. 7 DEAD. Seth Aaron Ator purchased an AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check, and fired it indiscriminately from his car into passing vehicles and shopping plazas. He also hijacked a mail truck, killing the driver. Ator had been blocked from getting a gun in 2014 after his background check was flagged because a court determined he was mentally ill, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter. Private sales, which account for up to 40 percent of all gun sales according to some estimates, are not subject to a federal background check and private sellers aren’t required to determine if a buyer is eligible to own a […]

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