Background-check flaw let Charleston church-massacre suspect buy a gun, FBI chief says
Photo of Dylann Roof from the Berkeley County Government Twitter account.
The 21-year-old suspect in a high-profile mass shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, should not have been able to buy a gun, the head of the FBI says.
But a flaw in the background-check process enabled Dylann Roof to purchase a .45-caliber firearm in April from a South Carolina gun dealer, FBI Director James Comey told reporters Friday.
Under federal law, the FBI, which initially put the brakes on the purchase, has three days to complete a background check, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. The examiner who reviewed Roof’s application failed to obtain within that period a police report stating that Roof had admitted to drug possession when questioned in an earlier felony case, Comey said. Had the examiner seen the police report, Roof would not have been allowed to get a gun.
Roof then returned to the same gun dealer three days later, who legally sold Roof a weapon even though the FBI had not finished its work.
Some gun dealers wait for an answer from the FBI before proceeding. However, they are not required to wait more than three days, and some don’t, the newspaper article explains.
“We are all sick this happened,” Comey said. “We wish we could turn back time.”
CNN, the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.), Reuters, Slate and the Washington Post (reg. req.) also have stories.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Hate-crime investigation launched after suspect captured in Charleston church shooting”
