One Online Dealer, Two Campus Massacres

Wis.-Based Internet Gun Dealer Sold Weapons, Accessories To NIU And Va. Tech Shooters

(AP)  A Green Bay-based Internet gun dealer who sold a weapon to the Virginia Tech shooter last year sold handgun accessories to the man who killed five at Northern Illinois University on Thursday.

Eric Thompson said Friday that his Web site, www.topglock.com, sold two empty 9 mm Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Stephen Kazmierczak on Feb. 4, just 10 days before the 27-year-old opened fire in a classroom and killed five before committing suicide.

The order was shipped on Monday and records of the sale provided to The Associated Press by Thompson show Kazmierczak received the order on Tuesday.

Kazmierczak carried a rifle and three handguns into the classroom Thursday. Thompson said he had no idea whether the shooter was using the holster or magazines he sold. Each magazine can hold 33 bullets. Thompson said his site did not sell Kazmierczak any bullets or guns.

Authorities said two of the weapons he used in the shooting - the pump-action Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun - were purchased legally Feb. 9 in Champaign, Ill., where Kazmierczak was a student.

This is the second time that a Web site run by Thompson's company, TGSCOM, Inc., has been connected with a campus shooting. Another Thompson site www.thegunsource.com also sold a Walther .22-caliber handgun to Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people in April on the Virginia Teach campus before killing himself.

"I'm still blown away by the coincidences," Thompson said Friday. "I'm shaking. I can't believe somebody would order from us again and do this."

Thompson said he checked his sales records after the name of the shooter was made public on Friday. Those records show the sale made to Kazmierczak for a total price of $105.62. The items were shipped to an apartment in Champaign and signed for by someone other than Kazmierczak.

Thompson said he contacted the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within five minutes of realizing the latest connection shortly after 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Thompson said his Web site is well-known among gun users on the Internet so it is not surprising that someone looking for accessories for a Glock would find it. But being tied to both of the shootings is "unnerving," he said.

"I still feel just absolutely in shock," he said. "I feel like I was run over by a truck."

Thompson said he has no way of knowing whether Kazmierczak found out about his Web site from the publicity it got after the Virginia Tech shootings, but the thought crossed his mind. The Web site did see an increase in traffic after that shooting, he said. Thompson said he also received many phone calls and threats.

He said he's worried the same thing will happen this time around. But he decided to go public because he thought the public has a right to know as much as it can about the shooter and not feed off of rumors or outright lies.

[ontheleft]

Guns kill. That''s what they''re designed to do. If I could, I would take away every last gun in this country and trash them. Want to hunt? Use a bow & arrow. Or better yet, find another way to entertain yourself. Want to kill someone? Use a knife like OJ did. It''s a bit more challenging to kill with a knife and chances are you won''t be able to go on a mass killing spree with one.

However, banning guns in this country is pure fantasy. It''s a sad fact of life that we have to live with them.

[remmeler]

If there are threats to be made, it shouldn''t be against this gun dealer servicing gun owners. It should be against the Republicans that refuse to consider any gun control. It may be true that if we take away guns only the criminals will have guns, but that would mean that just the possession of the gun could put the criminal away for a long time if that kind of law was put into force. I would be for a rigorous gun license plan with a 10 year jail term for unlicensed gun possession. Maybe only the criminals would have guns, but they would be soon in jail.

[jdianeb3]

Almost anything can be used as a killing/maiming tool.
Just because some idiot decides to use a product for
killing does not mean the sellers or manufacturers of such goods should be held to blame. Nor should such goods or services be denied to the rest of us. The user is ultimately the only one responsible, as that person is the one who crossed the line!

[billconn2]

Why can''t we just tighten up the background checks?

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jdianeb3 at 01:16 PM

Incredible. Yet again some fool tries to compare the damage a gun can do to that of other so-called "killing/maiming tools." Simply incredible. Forget that the only purpose for a gun is to kill.

[dmorg4]

Guns dont kill with out a hard heart behind them to help pull the triger!

[skyk-2009]

I live in Kentucky and just this morning my wife and I went to a Flea Market. There had to have been at LEAST 50-60 various Shot Gun''s, Pistols and Semi Automatic Rifles available to anyone who wanted to buy one. Back Ground Check? Doesn''t exist and anyone from anywhere can buy them. Just the facts.

[blazercoach1]

I wonder where Kazmiercek heard about the website where he could purchase his accessories?? Hmmmm...could it be THE MEDIA when he read about the VT shootings??

[maedean]

Guns don''t kill people do. How can you blame the gun dealer ? He is not the one that pulled the trigger. How about lets blame the people who kill other people. Hey and lets start with the laws in this country that do nothing to people who commit crimes .Just lock them up feed them, give them great medical and dental insurance make sure there rights are not violated kind of like the illegals get if they come here. The gun dealer is not to blame society is to blame.. Take a look all of you mit learn something.....

[dmorg4]

Well the way i see it they just need to stop letting
crazy idiots have guns make those people buy them in
person that way if its someone that should not have one we could have a system in place that would weed those people out and dont sell a gun just for any reason make them have a valid reason as to why they need a gun.
no system is going to be perfect but short of outlawing guns nothing else will work and even if you outlaw guns somebody is still going to manage to get one somewhere

[notso9]

Well here we go again. Why don''t we just ban Stpidity. Execute anyone who can''t make the grade on an IQ test. Would that make all you liberals happy? I''ve had guns since I was old enough to shoot and the best memories I have of my father are the times we spent together hunting, even as an adult. I have NEVER used a gun in anger, but will *** Sure defend my family against any thug who attempts to violate my rights, which include the right to own the guns I have. I am a licensed gun owner and have a concealed carry permit.You cannot account for every idiot out there, by banning everything. Wake up and get off m back!

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by USAyesterday at 02:58 PM

WELL SAID!!!!

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by notso9 at 03:38 PM

Do you feel you would be justified to use violence if someone were to insult you?

[pakaal]

maedean: The gun dealer is not to blame society is to blame.. Take a look all of you mit learn something....."

Yeah, we might learn that the gun-totin'' right has now the left''s "Society is to blame!" excuse for their own. Whatever happened to the party of personal responsibility?

The weapons being used in shooting after shooting were legally purchased, so we know existing laws aren''t helping stop people shooting other people. And much as I enjoy a good Western, the idea of having to have a shootout every few days once we arm every citizen in the US with a handgun or two and the average American does what we do best - use whatever we''ve got when we feel offended by someone else - we get a return to the kind of tremendous homicide rates we saw back in the 1800s in the West.

Our gun laws are toothless as is, and the fanatics that collect 10, 20, 50 or more guns want to loosen them some more? Look around you, and wake up to reality.

[salgomes]

First, no one can legally buy a gun over the internet without picking it up at a licensed gun dealer. When that person goes to the gun dealer they have to fill out a background check form that is processed through the NICS to veryify if they are eligible. This COWARDLY criminal DID NOT buy a gun from the internet, he bought accessories. How does anyone let their hatred for anything cloud the facts that are printed right there in black and white?

Second, who decides what is a good reason for someone to have a gun? Do I wait until someone breaks down my front door and tries to rape or kill my wife or daughter THEN beg some beaurecrat for one? The Framer''s intentions were clear on this issue. Besides, the right to protect myself and my family comes from God, not from man. I yield to the power of the state to get a carry permit so I am not grouped with criminal jerkoffs like those committing these murders.

Third, a "gun free zone" merely provides that criminal with the knowledge that those who follow the law (their intended targets) so they know they can commit their acts with little chance that anyone will have the ability to stop them. Explain to me how that makes any sense.

[notso9]

Crime is real.Murder is real. Home invasions are rampant. Look at the statistics. Do you perform preventative maintenance on your car? Why not then be prepared to protect yourself. Words do not hurt me, but I will not bring a knife to a gunfight. Wake up and pull your head out of the sand.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by notso9 at 03:54 PM

Apparently a lot of people are very armed. So why do we have such a high homicide rate?

[klingon69]

The weapons being used in shooting after shooting were legally purchased, so we know existing laws aren''''t helping stop people shooting other people.
Our gun laws are toothless as is, and the fanatics that collect 10, 20, 50 or more guns want to loosen them some more? Look around you, and wake up to reality.
Posted by pakaal at 03:50 PM : Feb 16, 2008
There are teeth in our gun laws, just as there are in immigration laws, the problem is; NO ENFORCEMENT. If existing laws were properly enforced, Chu would never had been able to purchase his firearms. If the laws were properly enforced, many of these tragedies would have been avoided.
The root problem is not the guns, it is people. They need to be responsible for their actions. Liberals have ingrained into many''s psyche that whatever you do wrong is not your fault, it is the fault of society.

[pakaal]

notso9: "I''''ve had guns since I was old enough to shoot... Wake up and get off m back!"

Oh look, someone who has guns and who doesn''t shoot other people with them! Is the best argument you have that you''re proof that everyone having guns is perfectly safe? Maybe you should consider that legally purchased weapons are used in between 60% and 70% of all mass murders in the US (and the world, in point of fact.)

I got no problems with people having guns, but there''s gotta be a lot stricter control over who gets them and how quickly they get them. There''s too many people getting weapons legally and murdering other people with them.

[grammawhamma]

The NIU shooting was the most recent in a string of campus killing sprees. Now, as Randall Pinkston reports, lawmakers are considering allowing students to carry concealed weapons for protection.


Well, I think if the 200 plus students were all carrying concealed weapons alot more would have been killed in the cross fire!

[notso9]

O.K. So why don''t we take guns from the police, and the military too? I agree, we have the laws, they just aren''t enforced. I went through and extensive background check to get my carry permit. Bottom line is if you want a gun bad enough, no law will stop you from obtaining it illegally. Why then should I not be allowed to protect myself and family as I feel ncessary. Just because you don''t like guns doesn''t mean it is wrong to own them.

[pakaal]

Klingon69: "The root problem is not the guns, it is people. They need to be responsible for their actions. Liberals have ingrained into many''''s psyche that whatever you do wrong is not your fault, it is the fault of society."

Right, so if we get rid of all the people, guns won''t kill anyone anymore. That much of your argument holds up to logic, but it''s kinda silly logic. Look, both sides go ''round and ''round on this. People kill. People with guns kill. But it''s the people who kill. But it''s the guns they have that kill....

Guys like Cho aren''t ''brainwashed by the left'' as your comment says, he was a sociopath, mentally dysfunctional. He obviously wouldn''t fall into your "responsible for your own actions" hopes because he''s crazy. It''s up to sane people to stop those crazy people from getting guns.

Saying this is about "personal responsibility" is great for responsible people, but that leaves us all at the caprices of the irresponsible ones - and judging by how many legally registered gun owners commit murders with those guns, they aren''t quite as serious about their responsibilities as you want everyone to think.

[flreason]

This guy wasn''t "hardhearted," he was mentally ill. He hadn''t been taking his meds. We will never be able to eliminate the potential for a deranged person to commit acts like this, but making the availability of automatic and semi-automatic weapons much more difficult to obtain would be a step in the right direction. A single-action weapon potentially allows much more time for security and on-lookers to respond with less loss of life. There is no need for anyone outside the military, law enforcement, or security to own these weapons.

[pakaal]

notso9: "Just because you don''''t like guns doesn''''t mean it is wrong to own them."

Didn''t I JUST write that "I got no problems with people having guns"? You can write, I assume you can read too.

[myidoncbs]

SalGomes said, "...criminal jerkoffs like those committing these murders."

Pay attention, re.****! This was NOT a "criminal *******" who committed these murders. It was just another "law abiding gun owner" who went nuts. As paranoid as you all are, it''s a wonder it doesn''t happen even MORE often than it does!

Here''s a little Babble quote for you to remember: "Live by the sword, die by the sword." This country is dying right before our very eyes, and the rampant violence carried out by those who believe they have a "right" to own and carry loaded weapons is one of the reasons our society is collapsing in upon us.

"An armed socity is a PARANOID society." - me
"A paranoid society soon destroys itself." - me

[notso9]

pakaal
I am responding to more than just your post so I apologize for not being clear. I just get tired of the same ole song and dance every time someone kills with a gun. As Ronald Reagan said, the problem is not With the government, it IS the government. You can regulate everything with government control. With the new wave of Kill then Commit Suicide, I don''t know what you do. Just don''t think there is something wrong with those of us who enjoy owning guns.

[notso9]

I meant you Can''t regulate everything with government control

[nodemotwit]

(cont)
Beyond that, if the left wants to restrict gun purchases by mentally-disturbed-but-un-medicated (ex: VA Tech) or mentally-disturbed-but-medicated (ex: NIU) individuals then I say lets do it, tie all psychological practitioners into the ATF database. But leave the law abiding gun owners alone, and ditch your simpleton Minority Report-esk claims that all law abiding gun owners are insane pre-criminals. Even if gun ownership by citizens were outlawed completely the majority of NON-SUICIDAL gun deaths (sorry, you want to off your self, you will find a way%u2026) are caused by criminal-on-criminals, the same criminals who deal in outlawed drugs, the latter which a billion dollar US criminal industry. Since the decades of the US war on drugs have NOT stopped the flow of drugs into the US, who on the left is signing on to the simpleton and naive notion that the US criminal industry will NOT import all the guns and ammunition they need for their billion dollar illegal business??

[nodemotwit]

Three interesting observations of recent events:
1) This AM a perp used a car to kill 8 people in MD, w/a 200yd crime scene, and yet there is no outcry from the left to ban cars, despite a total lack of any constitutional right to own a car, despite +50K killed every year by vehicles (or more accurately, by the those driving them%u2026).
www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080216/NATION/818766356/1001

2) A few months ago a volunteer guard used her personal sidearm to stop yet another psycho murderer (4 dead) in CO, with multiple torso hits per coroner, on the premises of a church during a service, preventing many additional deaths.
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-shoot11dec11,0,3079377.story?coll=la-default-underdog

3) Yesterday an 80 yr old citizen used his pistol to defend his life from two home invasion perps, wounding one. Now both perps are in custody charged with assault, burglary, robbery.
www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080214_lj_hawes.bfc57dff.html

Yet I have yet to see ONE news agency reference to a law abiding gun owner who
- ACTED in defense of his/her person, or
- ACTED in the defense of others,
and ended up maiming/killing an innocent person in the process (not that that is impossible, but if law abiding gun owners are so incompetent then there should be an overwhelming number of www NEWS links the left can provide to support their ''''opinion''''.).
(cont)

[frankbowers]

Is this lame S*O*B bragging are is he praying that the police execute his tender hindend. He needs to be put away for the rest of his life. FRANK Bowers says so.

[notso9]

hoygie4
You are a prime example of someone who could NOT pass a backgrond check.

[frankbowers]

If it was left up to me all guns would have to be turned in and any one caught with one would be executed. I was brought up with guns in the house a 22, l2gu., 22/410 , a 16gu, a 20 gu and an old 8 gu, there were a couple of WWII pistols one was a german it was very ugly as the best I recall and no bullets and one was a pilots (45 I think) of WWII, I was scared to death of 8 gu after seeing it kick a man to the ground. I do know they were all loaded at all time (except the 8 gu we did not have any shells after about 46 or so) by the different doors just standing there no one ever got shot. That was before NRA came alone and made it so MACHO to own 50 cal and ever thing under the sun (jprimarily fior the sellers to get rich) to get sales in America which now is overrun by NRA and idiots wanting to/or owning a gun of some nature, Yeah I still own a 16 guage an old savage (WESTERN AUTO VINTGE 1950?) I think but it has not been fired since about 1955 or so no shells but I still own it and see no need. If the govt. was to say turn it in I probably would but most of the Macho men who have 10 or 12 guns think they could not walk down the street naked (If they did not have their Saturday night special in the front pocket concealed with the license in back pocket hoping to see a bank robber robbing a bank to show them they could bring them down). SHAME OF THE IGNORANT B*A*S*T*****DS. THE BEST OF GOOD BYES FROM AUSTIN, TX AND Frank Bowers.

[lynne_m1]

Maybe they should close their business and find something else, they seem to attract the most extreme degenerates.

[lynne_m1]

hoygie4

YOU ARE VERY SICK!

[salgomes]

MyIDonCBS-
Re.****(sic)? Paranoid? You don''t know me so you should be more mindful of throwing around insults.

I give myself and my family protection from those who want to do me harm. Have you had to deal with someone who has openly proclaimed their intent to kill you because they were terminated from the job where you were their boss? What would your plan be to handle that situation? Hope the police could show up in time after you call 911? A lawfully carried pistol is my best defense. Look, you seem like a reasonably decent person so will you take care of my 19 month old daughter when this guy kills me because you wish me not to have the means to protect myself? She is a sweetheart!

Criminal - one who intentionally breaks the law. Remind me how he wasn''t one? If he lived he should not have been prosecuted?

"Rampant violence by those who have a ''right'' to own..." Seriously. How many criminals are citing the Bill of Rights as a way to justify their using a firearm to commit their crimes? None. They are criminals and choose to live outside the bounds set by society and have not the protection of the 2nd Amendment.

If every gun owner went nuts (as you clearly infer will happen) everyone in the country would be massacred and that would be it and this thread would die(sic).

[micubano03]

Can somebody tell me why it is so easy to purchase a gun in other states but close to a mircale to purchase a gun in NJ. I guess that is why we have never had anything closely resemebling the types of shooting that have taken place in Colorado, Virginia, Florida etc...Perhaps lawmakers should get out of bed with the gun lobby and stop worrying if Clemens took steroids and start protecting the citizens. Guns are for folks who use them in war, or hunt. Outside of that you have no business owning a gun to "protect" your family. As a former rifle instructor in the Marines, I came across a ton of "daddy" boys who thought they knew how to use a gun, the truth is only a few have the discipline and the skill to own any time of gun or rifle. So if you are not hunting with it or you are not in Iraq, then leave the guns to those who know how to use them. And stop making it so easy for somebody to buy them. The real problem in this country is the lawmakers(worthless men and women) and the lobbist (even more worthless men and women) The blood of those kids is on your hands.

[salgomes]

My pistols are secured in such a way that she cannot ever access them in a state where she could fire them. As she gets older I will adapt my storage relavant to her abilities.

www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp

[salgomes]

micubano03...thank you for your service to our great country but I disagree with you on this.

I have taken nearly a dozen live-fire courses in order to hone my skills relating to my use and carry of a pistol. I regularly compete in IDPA events which even further reinforce my good habits.

How do you reccomend I protect myself from the person who has promised me harm?

[michellem99-2009]

I think that they should have sites where a person can ''t and do not buy /sell this kind of items as they have no idea of who they are selling to. It is a poor way of doing business. That persons should buy in person, have their prints done,have a background check,state fed,medical as well, We have the means but too lazy to put it in place.

[dowjones20k]

Typical headline sensationalism by CBS ...

The online business is LEGAL last I heard .. and ALL of the items were PURCHASED LEGALLY ....

For some odd reason this poor business owner gains negative attention because he sells gun accessories and a couple of kooks decide to kill innocent people.

Is it his responsibility to make sure the nutjob takes his medication?

Personal responsibility is a chraterisitc this country seems to have forgotten about ..

Blame the gun, the bullets, the accessories or the meds ...

Of course you cant blame the criminal or the kook that pulled the trigger ... now thats AMERICA !!!


We have lost our way !!!

[rheola-2009]

Just don''''t think there is something wrong with those of us who enjoy owning guns.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by notso9 at 04:25 PM : Feb 16, 2008


There has to be, for any person who could get enjoyment from owning an item that was invented to kill, and for NO other purpose.

[rheola-2009]

We have lost our way !!!


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Posted by dowjones20k at 07:07 PM : Feb 16, 2008

You certainly have, how many more innocent people will die before something is done about the ridiculous simplicity of obtaining a weapon..

[dowjones20k]

rheola ....

Are you truly serious?

Guns are a part of our history and hertiage .. they are used in serious competition and the Olympics.

Many Americans have great respect for firearms and are raised to be competent and law abiding gunowners.

My father taught me as a young boy and told me that guns will kill ... humans or otherwise .. I know how to respect the weapons I use, as do my children.

It is also a RIGHT given by the US Constitution.

I hope your local police department has weapons .. just as all of the criminals do.

Instead of of whining and crying enforce the laws that already exist!

Do you live in utopia?

[dowjones20k]

rheola at 07:13 PM : Feb 16, 2008

"You certainly have, how many more innocent people will die before something is done about the ridiculous simplicity of obtaining a weapon.."


Rheola ..

Have you read anywhere that these guns were purchased illegally?

THought so ...

We have laws and the laws should be enforced ... whats the difference if this kook used a gun or a bomb ..

he was a nut !!! and no law is going to save innocent people when a nut wants to kill ...

He could use an array of things to kill innocent citizens ...

He was a dimented person ... and with 300 million + citizens, we are bound to have nuts in society ..

You must be very young or very naive ...

Get a clue!!!

[rheola-2009]

Posted as a news item
CBS today.


Lawrence King, 15, was taken off life support on Thursday and his body was taken for autopsy after the organ harvesting.

Another that can be added to the gun death list, numbering tens of thousands,that the gun lobby and NRA can be held in part as being largely responsible for.

[notso9]

There has to be, for any person who could get enjoyment from owning an item that was invented to kill, and for NO other purpose.




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Posted by rheola at 07:11 PM : Feb 16, 2008
+ report abuse


How can be so closed minded on the subject. Have you ever owned a gun, hunted or even been to a gun range? I happen to enjoy shooting for recreation. Skeet shooting, or just target practicing, it is a learned skill. Does it mean I will go shoot someone just because I own a gun? Absolutely not. Do I have delusions of being a hero as someone mentioned earlier? That''s pure babble. I don''t like cross stitch or knitting, but that does''t mean it should be taken from everyone who does.

[rheola-2009]

Have you read anywhere that these guns were purchased illegally?

Posted by dowjones20k at 07:25 PM : Feb 16, 2008

My point exactly.

[dowjones20k]

rheola ...

You obviously knwo NOTHING about personal responsibility .. it is NOT the guns fault .. it is the person who uses it to commit the violence ...

"Kings alledged assailant, Brandon McInerney, 14, has been charged with first-degree murder with the special allegation of a hate crime."

This boys parents whould be held responsible, as should he!!

Th NRA & gun Lobbies do NOT CONDONE GUN VIOLENCE!!

Stop drinking the kool-aid and do some research !!!

[notso9]

I''m sure glad that rheola is not our leader. Everything that they did not like would be taken from us. So closed minded as to think everything is their way or no way at all.

[rheola-2009]

Th NRA & gun Lobbies do NOT CONDONE GUN VIOLENCE!!

Posted by dowjones20k at 07:33 PM : Feb 16, 2008


That is so, however they do everything possible to stop the introduction of any form of sensible gun control [not gun bans], which of course would not erradicate all gun deaths, but would certainly save the lives of, up to maybe thousands each and every year.