Shooter in Aurora, Illinois, manufacturing plant wasn't legally allowed to own gun

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By Kalhan Rosenblatt

Gary Montez Martin, the man who opened fire inside a manufacturing company in Aurora, Illinois, legally should not have been in possession of a firearm, police said on Saturday.

On Friday, Martin, who had been an employee of the Henry Pratt Co. for 15 years, opened fire at a meeting during which he was being terminated from his job, according to Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman.

Ziman said that Martin shot at the person who was firing him and others in the meeting before moving outside the room.

“We believe that several people who were involved in that meeting are the ones who are deceased,” Ziman said during a press conference on Saturday.

Martin killed five people in total and injured several police officers during the rampage, before being shot and killed by police.

During the press conference, Ziman named the victims, who were all employees of Henry Pratt Co.: Clayton Parks, the human resources manager; Trevor Wehner, a human resources intern and a student at Northern Illinois University; Russell Beyer, a mold operator; Vicente Juarez, a stock room attendant and forklift operator; and Josh Pinkard, the plant manager.

Another unidentified victim was treated at a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

The injuries the police officers sustained during the shooting are all considered non-life-threatening.

Gary Martinvia LinkedIn

On Saturday, Ziman said that Martin, 45, purchased a handgun on March 6, 2014, after being issued an Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card in January of that year. The firearm, a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber, was in Martin’s possession as of March 11, 2014.

The FOID card application process includes a background check, but applicants are not fingerprinted, Ziman said.

It was only when Martin applied for a concealed carry permit on March 16, 2014, that he was fingerprinted and it was revealed he had a 1995 felony conviction for aggravated assault in Mississippi.

Ziman said that upon the discovery of this conviction, Martin’s concealed carry permit was rejected and his FOID card was revoked.

“Absolutely he was not supposed to be in possession of a firearm,” Ziman said.

source: nbcnews.com