SMALL GUN SHOP THAT SOLD THE WEAPON TO THE ALLEGED HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER ‘CLOSES INDEFINITELY’

The aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has led to the closure of one small business.

According to the Miami Herald, the owners of Sunrise Tactical Supply, the Coral Springs, Florida, shop that authorities said in November sold suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz the AR-15 assault weapon that was used in the shooting last week, has been “closed indefinitely.”

The owners of the small business, located in a strip mall near the school, said they ensured that Cruz had filled out all of the required paperwork that included his driver’s license and assurances that he did not suffer from mental illness. The store owners say, through their attorney, that Cruz only purchased the semiautomatic rifle off the shelf and did not purchase any accessories, modifications or ammunition so as not to raise eyebrows.

Both owners are, according to their attorney, distraught.

“The tremendous sense of responsibility in this situation and just horribleness that they feel that one of their weapons fell into the hands of this maniac,” the attorney said in the Miami Herald report.“They are scared — not just for their safety — but more importantly about how the reaction is going to be for the rest of the community as they try to re-enter it.”

The Daily Mail also reported that Cruz apparently purchased other assault weapons from another local gun store — Gun World of South Florida — since 2016, but not the one used in the killing spree.

“He was not a regular customer of ours,” Kim Waltuch the owner of Gun World told the Daily Mail.“We went through the process of the background checks which is the only way we release a firearm. He was immediately approved.” Waltuch said the store has been raising money for victims of the shooting.

It’s become clear the Florida tragedy is once again focusing attention on the thousands of independent gun stores across the country.