Cetin tried to buy another gun minutes before Mall shooting

The Seattle Times reports that Turkish-born Arcan Cetin who killed five people with .22 caliber rifle in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, had gone to a gun shop minutes before his shooting rampage in an attempt to buy a .45 caliber handgun.

Cetin, she said, came through the door and asked her “If we have .45s and stuff,” referring to a popular and powerful handgun caliber. “I mean, yeah, we have ‘stuff.’ It just didn’t feel right.”

Cetin was referred to a store sales representative, Dawn said, where he almost immediately began asking about background checks. When he was told he would have to undergo one no matter what, Dawn, said, “he sort of puffed up the way men do when you tell them, ‘No.’ ”

Cetin, she said, asked about buying a firearm at a gun show, but was told that under Washington law every firearm transaction — even those between private individuals — requires an instant background check.

Dawn said that once Cetin was told in no uncertain terms that a check would be conducted, he “just walked out of the store.”

The owner told the reporter that they had already decided that they weren’t going to sell him a gun because of a “feeling”. Good instincts, Dawn.

According to the article, Cetin was under a court order that forbade his possession of a firearm and that might have been sufficient if it popped up on the background check – but nothing is a given when it comes to NICS. We’ve seen a number of shooters who shouldn’t own guns, but had them despite evidence to the contrary.

The first line of defense is firearms dealers. Funny how the Times isn’t making a big deal about how he finally got his hands on a gun. It appears that he stole his father’s gun. But, the fact remains that current gun laws were sufficient to prevent him from creating a bigger mess in his hunt for his ex-girlfriend.

Category: Guns