Monday during a press conference, Ed Hensen, the owner of St Lucie, FL shooting center where gunman Omar Mateen bought the weapons he used in the Orlando FL mass shooting, said the guns were legally purchased and all background checks were performed.
Hansen said, “I personally worked down at the Twin Towers and retired in March of ’02 and also was a first responder on Flight 587. I have an idea of what they are facing in this investigation and it’s horrific. So my feelings go out to the law enforcement people as well. I would like to avoid any political issues and stick to the facts regarding this case. An evil person came in here and legally purchased two firearms from us. And if he hadn’t purchased them from us, I’m sure he would have gotten them from another local gun store in the area. This man held multiple security licenses. He had an armed and unarmed license.”
“He passed the background check that every single person that purchases a firearm in the state of Florida undergoes,” he continued. “Let me say that again. A full background check was performed by Florida Department of Law Enforcement in coordination with their agreement with the FBI, however they conduct their background. There is no such thing as an abbreviated background check, even though that’s what has been wrongly reported. One another note, I will tell you this if you don’t know, if a law enforcement officer walks into this gun store and purchases a firearm, if that officer has a concealed carry permit in addition to his credentials, he can make a purchase. There is a full background check done on that officer at that time. Hard to believe but that’s the truth. If the officer has no concealed carry permit, that officer has a three-day wait and that doesn’t include the day he purchased the gun or any holidays and weekends.
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