By The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) - Agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms searched a Tacoma gun shop and its owner’s home on Wednesday, teaming up in a new investigation into how a rifle got into the hands of John Muhammad, one of two suspects in the sniper shootings that terrorized Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs in October. Advertisement
The joint investigation arose from a civil inquiry in which the firearms bureau sought to determine whether the gun shop, Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply, had been properly documenting gun sales, said Martha Tebbenkamp, a spokeswoman for the bureau.
Bull’s Eye was previously searched by federal agents examining its sales records. Agents will not say precisely what they are looking for this time, but Ms. Tebbenkamp said the owner, Brian Borgelt, was “being very cooperative.”
The .223-caliber Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle that the authorities say was used in the sniper shootings was delivered to Bull’s Eye on July 2. The store has not been able to produce records showing that the gun was sold, even though gun dealers are required to keep such records.
Mr. Muhammad, 41, and the other sniper suspect, Lee Malvo, 17, are awaiting separate trials in Virginia in the death of 2 of the 13 people they are accused of killing.
Neither suspect could have bought a gun legally in the United States: Mr. Muhammad was the subject of a domestic violence protective order, and Mr. Malvo was an illegal immigrant from Jamaica and a juvenile.