This post has been updated.
A lawyer for a Virginia gun shop said in a statement issued Wednesday that 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, the deceased Washington Navy Yard shooter, purchased a shotgun and about two boxes of shells from the store last Saturday.
J. Michael Slocum added that employees at SharpShooters Small Arms Range in Lorton ran a federal background check on Alexis, the private Navy contractor identified as the gunman who killed 12 people Monday, and he was subsequently approved.
Alexis had been suffering from a host of serious mental problems including paranoia and sleep disorder, and had been hearing voices in his head, according to the Associated Press.
The FBI said Tuesday that it had no information indicating that Alexis was in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle. Alexis entered the Navy building with a shotgun and may have obtained a handgun once inside the facility, officials said.
Alexis’ employer, a Navy subcontractor, told the Washington Post earlier Tuesday that the military never disclosed the man’s prior police reports to the company.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the co-author of an amendment that would have expanded background checks on gun buyers in the wake of the Newton, Conn. elementary school massacre, does not intend to revisit the issue, an aide told Politico Tuesday.
Update: SharpShooters’ full statement below, via TPM’s Eric Lach:
Sharpshooters Small Arms Range was visited by Aaron Alexis on September 15, 2013. Mr. Alexis rented a rifle and purchased ammunition which he used at the practice range. He then purchased a Remington 870 shotgun and a small amount of ammunition (approximately 2 boxes — 24 shells). In accordance with Federal law, Mr. Alexis’ name and other applicable information, including his state of residency, was provided to the Federal NICS system and he was approved by that system. After the terrible and tragic events at the Navy Yard, the Sharpshooters was visited by federal law enforcement authorities, who reviewed the Range’s records, including video and other materials. So far, as is known Mr. Alexis visited the Range only once, and he has had no other contact with the Range, so far as is known.
Late Update: In a subsequent email to TPM, Slocum told TPM that Alexis visited Sharpshooters Small Arms Range on Saturday, Sept. 14 and not Sunday, Sept. 15 as initially stated.
