Current:Home > InvestGun shops that sold weapons trafficked into Washington, DC, sued by nation’s capital and Maryland-LoTradeCoin
Gun shops that sold weapons trafficked into Washington, DC, sued by nation’s capital and Maryland
View Date:2024-12-23 20:20:19
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three gun shops that sold nearly three dozen firearms to a man who trafficked the weapons in and around Washington, D.C., are facing a new lawsuit jointly filed Tuesday by attorneys general for Maryland and the nation’s capital.
At least nine of those guns have now been found at crime scene and or with people wanted on warrants for violent offenses, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. Many of the others are still unaccounted for.
“Our city is being flooded with illegal weapons,” he said. “All three of these stores ignored the red flags.”
The lawsuit is the first to be filed jointly and comes as cities and states file civil suits against gun shops around the country, including in New Jersey, Minnesota, Chicago and Philadelphia. Kansas City also settled a suit last year against a gun dealer accused of ignoring evidence that guns were being sold illegally.
Washington, D.C., has struggled with gun violence in recent years. The nation’s capital saw its highest number of homicides in more than three decades last year, and more than 90% of those were carried out with firearms, the suit states.
“Many of us watch the news and we wonder where all these guns are coming from,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “Now we have part of the answer.”
The supply of weapons is largely fueled by people who buy guns for others who can’t legally possess them, Schwalb said. About 95% of guns recovered in Washington, D.C., which has strict gun laws, originally come from nearby Maryland or Virginia, Schwalb said. While some of those are stolen weapons, more come from illegal straw sales, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The new suit, filed with the gun safety group Everytown Law, accuses the Maryland-based stores of failing to respond to warning signs, including bulk purchasing and repetitive purchases.
The three gun shops sold a total of nearly three dozen similar weapons to Demetrius Minor over a seven-month period in 2021, the suit said. Nearly all were trafficked to others, including people who aren’t legally allowed to buy firearms, the suit alleges. One gun, for example, was found in a D.C. hotel room along with an illegal large-capacity magazine and another was found at the home of a stabbing suspect, the suit says.
Minor pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license last year in a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. An attorney who represented Minor could not immediately be reached for comment.
The suit was filed against Engage Armament LLC, United Gun Shop and Atlantic Guns, Inc., all located in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland. It seeks unspecified damages and court action to halt any future straw purchases. The stores did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
veryGood! (93334)
Related
- Disease could kill most of the ‘ohi‘a forests on Hawaii’s Big Island within 20 years
- Carrie Underwood Divulges Her Fitness Tips and Simple Food Secret
- Cranes arriving to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse
- Opening day 2024: What to watch for on the first full day of the MLB season
- 'I heard it and felt it': Chemical facility explosion leaves 11 hospitalized in Louisville
- California man convicted of killing his mother is captured in Mexico after ditching halfway house
- 'Cowboy Carter' includes a 'Jolene' cover, but Beyoncé brings added ferocity to the lryics
- U.S. midfielder Korbin Albert apologizes for sharing ‘insensitive and hurtful’ social media posts
- Wisconsin’s high court to hear oral arguments on whether an 1849 abortion ban remains valid
- Orlando city commissioner charged with spending 96-year-old woman’s money on a home, personal items
Ranking
- Congress returns to unfinished business and a new Trump era
- AP Week in Pictures: Global
- Sawfish are spinning, and dying, in Florida waters as rescue effort begins
- The Hedge Fund Manager's Path to Financial Freedom in Retirement: An Interview with John Harrison
- US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
- Author of children's book about grief hit with another attempted murder charge in death of husband
- 4 prison guards in custody for allegedly helping 5 escape county jail
- ASTRO COIN: Event blessing, creating the arrival of a bull market for Bitcoin.
Recommendation
-
The View's Sara Haines Walks Off After Whoopi Goldberg's NSFW Confession
-
Tyler Stanaland Responds to Claim He Was “Unfaithful” in Brittany Snow Marriage
-
Man in Scream-Like Mask Allegedly Killed Neighbor With Chainsaw and Knife in Pennsylvania
-
Arizona ends March Madness with another disappointment and falls short of Final Four again
-
Gold is suddenly not so glittery after Trump’s White House victory
-
Building a new Key Bridge could take years and cost at least $400 million, experts say
-
ASTRO COIN:Blockchain is related to Bitcoin
-
MLB Opening Day highlights: Scores, best moments from baseball's first 2024 day of action