Two Nevada gun shops confirmed Monday that they sold firearms to Mandalay Bay shooter Stephen Paddock in the last year and said he passed all required background checks.
It was unknown if the weapons Paddock bought from the gun shops, New Frontier Armory in North Las Vegas and from Guns and Guitars in Mesquite, were used in the casino massacre.
David Familglietti of New Frontier said Paddock purchased a rifle and a shotgun in the spring, and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were interviewing the employee who handled the sale.
“The rifle was not fully automatic and a shotgun isn’t capable of shooting from where he was,” Famiglietti told NBC News when asked whether it was possible the guns were used in the mass shooting.
“He’s only shopped there once so it wasn’t someone we knew personally,” he said.
“We’re very sad about the news of this tragedy. We’re in the business of selling firearms legally and took all precautions on this sale as we do with all sales. My staff takes their job very seriously and if there were any ‘red flags’ the sale would have halted immediately.”
He added: “All state and federal laws were followed and an FBI background check took place and was passed by the buyer.”
Christopher Sullivan, general manager of Guns & Guitars, did not say what weapons Paddock, who lived in Mesquite, had bought.
“All necessary background checks and procedures were followed, as required by local, state, and federal law. He never gave any indication or reason to believe he was unstable or unfit at any time,” Sullivan said in a statement.
“We are currently cooperating with the ongoing investigation by local and federal law enforcement in any way we can.”
“We mourn for this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the lost and injured,” he added.
Paddock’s younger brother, Eric, said he never knew the suspect to have a fascination with guns and thought he owned just a couple of handguns that he kept in a safe.
“Do I believe that he should have been able to get a machine gun?” the brother told NBC News. “Let me loose on whoever sold him the machine gun. He should not have a machine gun.”
Authorities have not said whether the gunman used a machine gun — a fully automatic weapon — to shoot scores of people within a few minutes.
Experts who have listened to recordings of the long bursts of gunfire that erupted inside the Mandalay Bay told NBC News there is a strong possibility that the suspect used some sort of modification.
Authorities have not said where the weapons used in the massacre were obtained. One possible reason for the delay: the gun-tracing system in the U.S. relies on paper records and even microfilm.
Even though buyers must fill out forms with gun dealers, those records are not fully searchable by computer. Often, investigators tracking a serial number have to start with the manufacturer and manually trace the gun’s history before they arrive at the most current purchase.