The weapon used in Saturday's shooting in Buffalo was purchased this year from a vintage gun store near the suspect's hometown, the owner of the gun shop confirmed to NPR.
Robert Donald, 75, the owner of Vintage Firearms in Endicott, N.Y., told NPR that the firearm was purchased in 2022. And he confirmed that he had run a background check on Payton Gendron, the 18-year-old suspect, but that the report showed nothing.
The purchase took place months after New York state police briefly took Gendron into custody after he made a threat about a shooting, as authorities have described.
Last June, state police investigated Gendron and ordered a psychiatric evaluation. After a day and a half in a hospital, he was released, authorities say. Afterward, he did not remain on law enforcement's radar.
The timing of the gun purchase, along with Donald's report of a clean background check, raises questions about why a police-ordered mental health evaluation would not have appeared on the report.
Donald's store typically sells vintage and collectible firearms. In an interview with The New York Times, he said his store only sells about half a dozen assault rifles each year – and that Gendron did not stand out.
In the suspect's 180-page screed posted online, the suspect described the gun as a Bushmaster XM-15, an AR-15-style rifle.
Police said Sunday that they recovered two additional guns from his car, a second rifle and a shotgun, but did not release further details.
