Man shouldn’t have had gun used in Aurora
The permit for Gary Martin had been revoked for a 1995 assault conviction but he never turned his firearm over to police.
An initial AURORA, ILL. — background check failed to detect a felony conviction that would have barred the man who killed five co-workers and wounded six others at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant from buying the gun.
Months later, a second background check of Gary Martin found his 1995 aggravated assault conviction in Mississippi involving the stabbing of an ex-girlfriend. But it prompted only a letter stating his gun permit had been revoked and ordering him to turn over his firearm to police — raising questions about the state’s enforcement to ensure those who lose their permits also turn over their weapons.
A vigil for the victims, including a university student on his first day as an intern and a longtime plant manager, was scheduled for Sunday in Aurora.
Martin, 45, was killed in a shootout with officers Friday, ending his deadly rampage at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora. His state gun license permit was revoked in 2014, Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said.
But he never gave up the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun he used in the attack. Investigators are still trying to determine what exactly law enforcement agencies did after that letter was sent, Ziman said.
Illinois lawmakers who support more gun control measures called it a huge flaw in the 1968 law that requires residents who want to legally buy firearms or ammunition to get a Firearm Owner’s Identification card, or FOID card, requiring a background check but does not mandate that police ensure weapons have been removed if a red flag is raised later.
Legislation was introduced in 2016 to require police go to the homes of gun owners who have their FOID cards revoked and search for the weapons, but it failed over concerns it would overtax police departments, said State Rep. Kathleen Willis, who wants a similar measure re-introduced.
Martin was no stranger to police in Aurora, where he had been arrested six times over the years for what Ziman described as “traffic and domestic battery-related issues” and for violating an order of protection.
After a background check failed to detect his felony conviction, Martin was issued his FOID card and bought the handgun on March 11, 2014. Five days after that, he applied for a concealed carry permit. That background check, which used digital fingerprinting, did flag his Mississippi felony conviction and led the Illinois State Police to revoke his permit.
Records stemming from his 1995 conviction in Mississippi described an extremely violent man who abused a former girlfriend, the Washington Post reported.
After serving less than three years, he moved to Illinois and landed a job at Henry Pratt. The conviction was not detected in a company background check.
Authorities said Martin began shooting after hearing he was being fired from his 15-year job for various workplace violations.
Martin killed three people in the room with him and two others just outside, Ziman said. Martin also wounded a sixth worker, who is expected to survive.
After wounding five officers, Martin was killed during an gunfire exchange. The wounded officers are expected to live.
The slain workers were human resources manager Clayton Parks of Elgin; plant manager Josh Pinkard of Oswego; mold operator Russell Beyer of Yorkville; fork lift operator Vicente Juarez of Oswego; and new intern Trevor Wehner, 21.