On Feb. 11, 2017, an 18-year-old by the name of Nikolas Cruz paid a visit to Sunrise Tactical Supply, a gun shop in Coral Springs, Fla.
He walked out with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, which he legally purchased after passing background checks. He may not have been old enough to buy a beer, but was legally able to buy a rifle, thanks to federal laws.
On Feb. 14, 2018, just over a year to the day after making his purchase, Cruz walked into his old high school and used his rifle to gun down 17 people, according to authorities.
Authorities said Sunrise Tactical Supply followed due process in selling Cruz the weapon, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
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But the lawyer representing the shop’s owners said they were “completely shocked and mortified that anything like this would happen,” and decided to shutter the shop until further notice, both out of respect for the victims of the shooting, and because they’re afraid of how the community will respond to them, according to the New York Daily News.
“They performed all appropriate background checks, received all the proper clearances, and held the weapon for the required five-business-day waiting period.”
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Rudman added that the shop’s owners were strongly supportive of any measures that would prevent people with a history of mental-health issues from buying lethal weapons.
“These measures will be a first step toward taking firearms out of the hands of those who would use them for such reprehensible attacks,” he said.
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However, Rudman’s defence of the shop’s owners did not stop the business’ Yelp page from being inundated with angry comments.
“Are you a teen with a history of mental illness can’t pass a background check? Do you wanna spray high school kids with bullets? This is the place for you!” read one comment.
“Since congress won’t do anything about gun control, people can put these places out of business with Yelp reviews. Go ahead take this down, we live in a pathetic society,” wrote another reviewer, who left a one-star rating.
The Yelp page also featured several supportive comments from people who said the shop wasn’t to blame for the tragedy.
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As of Friday, Yelp issued an “Active Cleanup Alert” for the comments section of Sunrise Tactical Supply’s page.
“This business has recently been in the news in connection with a recent tragedy. As a result, people may be coming to this page to share their thoughts and concerns,” read the alert.
“You are also welcome to post a review about this business, but we will ultimately remove reviews that appear to be motivated more by the recent events than by the reviewer’s own customer experience with the business.”
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Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were seen inside the store on Thursday.
The store remained shuttered on Friday, with the New York Daily News reporting that a couple of police officers were seen standing guard.
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