Same Gun Dealer Sold to 2 Campus Killers

MADISON, Wis. — The online gun dealer who sold a weapon to the Virginia Tech shooter said it was an unnerving coincidence that he also sold handgun accessories to the man who killed five students at Northern Illinois University.

Eric Thompson said his Web site, , sold two empty 9 mm Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Steven Kazmierczak on Feb. 4, just 10 days before the 27-year-old opened fire in a classroom and killed five before committing suicide. http://www.topglock.com

Another Web site run by Thompson's company, , also sold a Walther .22-caliber handgun to Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people in April on the Virginia Tech campus before killing himself. http://www.thegunstore.com

"I'm still blown away by the coincidences," Thompson said Friday. "I'm shaking. I can't believe somebody would order from us again and do this."

His company, TGSCOM Inc., based in Green Bay, shipped the order Monday, and records of the sale provided to The Associated Press by Thompson show Kazmierczak received the order Tuesday.

Kazmierczak carried a shotgun and three handguns into the classroom Thursday. Thompson said he had no idea whether the shooter used the holster or magazines purchased on the Web site.

Each magazine can hold 33 bullets, Thompson said. He said his site did not sell Kazmierczak any bullets or guns.

Kazmierczak bought two of the weapons used in the shooting _ the pump-action Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun _ legally on Feb. 9 in Champaign, Ill., where he was a student, authorities said.

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Thompson said he checked his sales records after the name of the shooter was made public Friday. The records show $105.62 in items were shipped to an apartment in Champaign and signed for by someone other than Kazmierczak.

Thompson said he contacted the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within five minutes of realizing the latest connection Friday morning.

The Glock Web site is well-known among gun users on the Internet, so it is not surprising that someone looking for accessories for a Glock would find it, Thompson said. But being tied to both of the shootings is "unnerving," he said.

"I still feel just absolutely in shock," he said. "I feel like I was run over by a truck."

Thompson said he has no way of knowing whether Kazmierczak found out about his Web site from the publicity it got after the Virginia Tech shootings, but the thought crossed his mind. Web traffic increased after that shooting, along with phone calls and threats, he said.

It was not clear whether one site linked to the other.

(This version CORRECTS a reference to a rifle to say shotgun.)

Comments

[factotem]

'The Glock Web site is well-known among gun users on the Internet, so it is not surprising that someone looking for accessories for a Glock would find it, Thompson said. But being tied to both of the shootings is "unnerving," he said."I still feel just absolutely in shock," he said. "I feel like I was run over by a truck."'

Heavens to Betsy. Someone used my product-that-kills to kill lots of people... twice. How'd that happen?

A-hole!

[dawlishgal]

Maybe he feels like he "was run over by a truck," but even that won't stop him from selling more guns to the mentally ill, the people with short fuses, and those creepy little typical Freudian cases who think that buying a gun is a way to get themselves a large penis.

The biggest problem with the ready availability of guns is that of impulse control, the lack of which presents a far bigger problem for our overarmed society than the off-chance that we will need another militia than the one we already have and (whoops) we won't be armed to the teeth with weapons inside our homes or that a burglar might come in while we are sleeping.

As I said before, my brother lost a 9th grade classmate to a brother who got angry when she ate the last piece of candy. He knew where the gun was kept, and in the heat of adolescent anger, we went and got the gun, and he shot and killed his sister. In a similar incident in our gun-less home, my brother whacked me with a pancake turner, and I am still here to tell about it.

Does anybody seriously think that this girl wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the ready availability of that gun. He might have punched her with his fist or pushed her (and let's hope that at least one of the parents would have told him that kind of behavior wasn't going to be accepted anymore), but he wouldn't have shot and killed her.

Eventually the boy would have had an leveling out of his burgeoning testosterone, but in this case, it would no longer matter. His life was ruined too.

[dawlishgal]

sorry...ty­po alert..."H­E" the brother went to get the gun.

[factotem]

I wouldn't want to be this poor schmuch right now for all the gun profits in Wisconsin.

[groucho]

Stop posing in front of the flag, you don't have the right to use that symbol to prostitute yourself. ONLINE gun store? And there are jails filled with kids who had pot. This is one fucked up country and the people with the guns are fucking it up.

[mommadona]

Tell me...how many websites do you need to sell firearms?

This guy had over 60.

Think about that.

[Cunningham]

What I'd like to know is why anyone would need a magazine which can hold 33 bullets.

[BetterDays]

Duh, hunting deer is impossible with a 33 bullet magazine. Those does run so fast when wounded and bleeding.

[traveler501]

you can buy these kinds of serious weapons...­online????­???

this country is out of its mind about weaponry. period.

[1will]

You cannot buy these weapons online. The weapons will be shipped to a licensed dealer who will do the background check. You'll pay an additional fee for having the dealer sell you another dealer's guns so I don't know why it would be worth it.
Depending on your state you can buy the magazines, holsters, etc. online.

[mommadona]

Uh....he DID.

There's a receipt.

They were DELIVERED to his apartment and signed for by his girlfriend­....

So.....abo­ut that there 'background check'....

[cynic]

Of course! That's the way it REALLY works. Voluntary regulations are the way everything should be regulated. I especially like utilizing the method of defunding the regulators so that voluntary regulation is the de facto means of regulating.

Wow!


Go bite a fart.

[normathumb]

According to the logic of the NRA we should be dumping boatloads of guns into the streets of the middle east. Make Iraq and Palestine safe. Guns and more guns for everybody. If only there were more guns in our inner cities, we would all be safer.
The only thing greater then their willful stupidity is there hubris.

[shockmagog]

You'd think with all the weapons caches Bush and Rumsfeld left lying around after the invasion, Iraq would be safe by now.

[newunderground]

Ummm, we do.

[cynic]

The NRA doesn't have to. The United States did this already. We shipped thousands of automatic rifles to Iraq and handed them out to the populace. We're trying to do the same in Pakistan now too.

Don't you love the Little Georgie and Big Dick school of diplomacy???

[pizzmoe]

More guns! More ! More!

[fvscvte]

time to close down the shop gun dealer. There is a message in this so called coincidence.
yes, guns do kill and it is time for the paranoid that think they are going to get their precious guns taken away, to step back and think again. Will enough be enough when it is YOUR kid who gets killed?

[cynicism101]

No, the message is that "people" do kill. I guess by your logic is time for us to close down the human race?

Also, read the article. Mr Thompson sold Mr Kazmierczak "accessories" not "guns."

Are we going to ban Gucci handbags because "accessories" kill people?

[shockmagog]

Only if you use them for silencers.

[A Meat Beetle]

cyn:

Yeah, people kill. And people with guns kill far more people in far less time than people without guns.

[brooklyncitizen]

Silly post...gue­ss you weren't on the debate team huh? "close down the human race?"lol

[cynic]

Nice try to use an inappropriate metaphor. Please tell me what a handbag has to do with a firearm?

Or are you just so fucking stupid you can't realize that a Gucci handbag is a "fashion" accessory, and a 33 round magazine for an easily converted to fully automatic "semi-automatic" weapon is a gun accessory.

Why do you love to fetishize killing people so much? Why do you love death?

[dr4Will]

bush,obama and mccain love you--you are their hero defender of our rights---scum!

[SteveStephens]

I guess we know where the next shooter is going to get his guns! probably later this spring if the timing works out.

[VitriolAndAngst]

The claim by the NRA supporters is that guns come from houses where they are stolen. I don't think homeowners are buying these cheap, use once guns.

I think that most of the guns used in crime are sold by these "independent" dealers. If a dealer lists too many guns as "stolen" they should lose their license, and all of them should be selling out of a shop.

[cynic]

The NRA is nothing but a self-perpetuating propaganda organization that continues in spreading its hyperbolic message in order to organize the ignorati into a mass of mouth-breathing idiots who need to feel important and powerful by espousing guns. The message of the NRA is hate hate and kill.

There is nothing honorable about the NRA. The "leadership" just uses the members money to keep themselves in power.

[totaldisbelief]

Hey numbnuts, the bad guys will always have guns.
There are more guns out in the world than you can ever collect.Cr­iminals and crazies are the problem.

[WmC]

Dear NRA

Thank you for standing up for my right to "keep and bear arms."

Sincerely,
Seung-Hui Cho

P.S. My parents thank you too.
P.P.S. My classmates might too, except a lot of them are dead.

[1will]

Dear NRA

Thank you for standing up for my right to "Keep and bear arms." Thank you for standing up for Jeanne Assam's right to keep and bear arms.

Sincerely,
All of those church members whose lives she saved when she stopped the shooter.

P.S. My kids thank you for saving their parents.

[A Meat Beetle]

total:

"Criminals and crazies are the problem."

What about lobbying organizations that keep it legal for "criminals and crazies" to have unfettered access to guns? Are they a problem?

This guy had a psych discharge from the military and was on medications that we know can lead to this kind of behavior if the patient stops taking them. Yet, thanks to weak gun laws, he was able to get these weapons legally. To me THAT is the problem.

[cynicism101]

We also let him operate a motor vehicle. We also let him vote, hold a job, attend a public education institution, have children, raise a family, etc...

Since he was diagnosed, and prescribed compensating medications, are you suggesting the correct solution is to institutionalize him? As really, that's the only way we can ensure he does act appropriately, and not abuse any of the other rights he has that are also equally capable of causing societal harm.

[SteveStephens]

If that's the case , how come gun murders are almost non-existant in Canada,England and Austraila. because they are smarter than we are, that's why.

[fact finder]

Steve Stephens. Wrong I have friends in both Australia and England .Murder is more common than you know because it is not made public.

[dawlishgal]

An even bigger problem is impulse control. It is INSANE to think that arming students is the answer to college violence. Giving guns to a bunch of hormonally-driven stressed kids will certainly cause more shootings of faculty members and girl friends and who knows who else. Faculties will be afraid to give D's or F's...that­'s for sure.

The presence of a sun when somebody gets angry is the problem. How many people would still be alive if there was no gun around when some hothead got mad?

My brother's classmate was murdered by her brother for eating the last piece of candy. He was 16, she was 14. He just grabbed a gun and shot her. Does anybody seriously think that if no gun were available, she wouldn't still be alive?

H*ll, when I ate the last piece of candy (years and years ago), my brother hit me with a pancake turner. Not a good thing to do, but not fatal. Thank God we had no guns in our house when we were kids.

[dawlishgal]

Sorry...pr­esence not of a "sun", but a "GUN."

[cynicism101]

Indeed, as I'm sure there were no utensils in your kitchen that were sharper than the afore mentioned spatula.

Or, perhaps your brother did have the impulse control to only engage you in a non-lethal manner. In the unfortunate case of your brothers sibling - are you suggesting someone willing to shoot a family member over something so trivial would not be able to use a fist, knife, or heavy blunt object to express their rage?

[LibsRway2funny]

I FEEL bad for Eric Thomson. But he did NOTHING wrong.
The sick MURDERERS are the ones who made ALL of this happen.

[WmC]

Dear NRA:

Thank you for standing up for my right to "keep and bear arms."

Sincerely,
Steven Kazmierczak

P.S. My father thanks you too.

[calfacon]

Dear NRA - Will you please use your enormously powerful organization to stick up for our rights to privacy. Habeas Corpus?
Thank You

[A Meat Beetle]

Lips:

"he sick MURDERERS are the ones who made ALL of this happen."

Who would that be?

[SteveStephens]

actually, I think mr.thompso­n should stop selling his wares to criminals and mentally sick people.

[SteveStephens]

Tell that to the multitude of Lawyers that are about to crawl up his ass!

[dawlishgal]

It depends on what you mean by "nothing wrong." How come in countries that have far fewer deaths by gun violence, there are also far fewer gun dealers?

[gearbox]

The easiest solution would be to let these gun owners keep their damn "shootin' irons" so they can shut up about their "Second Amendment Rights". Just restrict the shit out of any and all ammunition, loading equipment, gun powder and all other "shootin'" supplies that allow the use of these firearms.

[thehand]

Ba ha ha ha ha ha, Man the gun control freaks are just as brainwashed as the southern Baptist are about abortion. Turn off the DNC propaganda and think a minute. You cant stop guns anymore than you can stop abortion or weed. It aint gonna and cant happen. I can find and buy a gun in 30 minutes without any background check. I can get any hand gun or what ever I want and the police wouldnt even bother, if I were breaking a law. The jails are filled to the rim with murderers and child molesters and other serious villainy
The cops either go after serious crimes or easy traffic violation revenue misdemeanors.
Teachers need to be armed unless we are going to start rounding up all the mentlally ill and force them into treatment or just lock them all up. THe ACLU aint gonna let that happen either

[AtomicSplash]

Why would we want to stop them? We have the second amendment. Now using the second amendment as a guide we can bring individual gun ownership up to the same standard as that governing the state militia: Background checks, fingerprints and pictures kept of file with the FBI, registration of serial numbers, limited access gun safe security, certified initial and annual training in marksmanship and weapons safety and a firm understanding that you have a right to own a weapon for the purpose of defending the constitution. Do this and we shift the tone from the NRA's position of gun ownership so the people can kill their neighbor to one of gun ownership so the people can defend government of the people.

[bikerdude]

The jails are actually filled with drug users. Instead of trying to help them kick their addiction, we spend the money on still more prisons. It is political and it has a whole lot to do with the money. If they could figure out a way to tax illegal drugs, they would not be illegal anymore.

[SteveStephens]

We won't lock them up. You're right. We just suggest that you stop selling them weapons.

The ACLU.

[dawlishgal]

Yeah, right. Arm the teachers. Then the gun-loving killers will shoot the teachers first, before they use their automatic weapons on the others in the room.

Why do these sicko jerks right out of the Sigmund Freud archives think they and everybody else needs (and has an absolute right to) automatic weapons? Unless they want to kill a lot of people? Does it have to do with the guns' resemblance to a male body part? Are these people so lacking in a REAL male body part that they need to buy a fake one that spits fire and kills people? And why are there so many more of them here than there are anywhere else?

[cynic]

Well. Yes you can stop them.
If you examine the statistics of preventable deaths, and all firearms deaths are preventable, those countries which have effective bans on handguns and/or all firearms have drastically lower rates of preventable deaths.

Guns kill people. (okay... people using guns kill a lot of people... happy?)

You can't stop people smoking marijuana.­.. the plants just grow. However, it's not a simple thing to manufacture automatic weapons.

[BWonka]

And the poor little gun-dealing coward was never man enough to enlist and serve his country - he'd rather just help others kill people here.

Wonder if he sold Dead-Eye Dickless Cheney his rifle?

[cynicism101]

Ok, I'm missing the relevance to any prior or current military service of Mr Thompson. Likely because there is none. Further, I don't see how someone is coward for not electing to serve in the military. I do, however, find it disingenuous for those who have not served to criticize the actions of another persons' service.

I wonder, had Mr Kazmierczak used a motor vehicle to kill five students, if you would hold the same misguided contempt against the car dealer that sold him the vehicle? There are far more deaths caused by motor vehicle, but somehow we accept the argument that "cars don’t kill people, drivers do." Why is it so different for firearms?

In regards to Vice President Cheney - Typically, when one hunts foul, a shotgun is used - not a rifle. This was the case in the Harry Whittington shooting. Ironic that you would make the same mistake as the original article posting.

[adamsmith]

The "poor little gun-dealing coward" made a choice in life to sell a commodity, rather than become a soldier,sailor, or marine. Seeing that this isn't the Soviet Union(yet) it's his right to do what he wants for a living. Now the guy who probably sold the two cars that were racing with fatal results this week, is he a coward or a bad man for selling cars that can be used with fatal consequences? And the Cheney thing is juvenille. There are many ways to kill, should all of them be outlawed? Gasoline,k­nives,etc.­..? It's these stories that get the "people" riled up, when there are many times more incidences where guns save lives in a protective way, they just don't make headlines. Guns will always exist,and when they are taken(impossible, but for arguments sake) killings won't stop. It's the same thinking as on the far right. Make abortions illegal and there will never be any more abortions. Sure......­..It's not a perfect world and never will be. There's no such thing as a Utopia. Would be pretty boring if it was anyway....­.......

[cynicism101]

Well, gasoline is a petroleum product ... and around here, Oil's evil ...

So yeah, we better add gasoline to the "banned list" too....

[bikerdude]

How the hell would you know whether he enlisted or not? Most gun freaks I know are ex military.

[adamsmith]

Good point...As­suming will make an...you can guess the rest.....