Bull's Eye Shooter Supply
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Bull's Eye Shooter Supply is a gun shop in Tacoma, Washington that gained notoriety following the three-week long murder spree in the fall of 2002 which came to be known as the Beltway Sniper Attacks because they occurred near the circumferential Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) outside Washington, DC. The weapon used in the attacks, which included at least 10 deaths and 3 serious woundings, was shoplifted from the store by a juvenile illegal immigrant, according to his statements to investigators.
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[edit] The Beltway Sniper Attacks
While staying at a Bellingham, Washington homeless shelter, one of the convicted serial killers, John Allen Muhammad, frequently visited Bull's Eye's large shooting range. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo told investigators that he stole a Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic .223 caliber rifle, from the Bull's Eye store.
At the time of the attacks, the Bull's Eye complex was owned and managed by Brian Borgelt, a former Staff Sgt. with the U.S. Army Rangers. In July, 2003, the BATFE revoked his Federal Firearms License to own and operate the gun store. He transferred ownership to his friend Kris Kindschuh. The BATFE subsequently approved Kindschuh's FFL application. Borgelt continues to own the building, and operates the adjacent shooting gallery also located in it.
[edit] The Lawsuit
On January 16, 2003, the Brady Center's Legal Action Project, on behalf of the families of many of the Beltway Sniper Attacks victims, including Hong Im Ballenger, "Sonny" Buchanan, Jr., Linda Franklin, Conrad Johnson, Sarah Ramos and James L. Premkumar Walekar, as well as two victims who survived separate shootings in Virginia and Maryland, Rupinder "Benny" Oberoi and 13-year old Iran Brown, filed a civil lawsuit against Bull's Eye Shooter Supply and Bushmaster Firearms, Inc. of Windham, Maine, as well as Muhammad and Malvo. Neither man would have been legally eligible to procure the firearm which was used in the murders. Muhammad, who had a record of domestic violence, and Malvo, a minor, were each legally prohibited from purchasing firearms.
The suit claimed that Bull's Eye Shooter Supply ran its gun store "in such a grossly negligent manner that scores of its guns routinely 'disappeared' from its store and it kept such shoddy records that it could not even account for the Bushmaster rifle used in the sniper shootings when asked by federal agents for records of sale for the weapon." It was alleged that the dealer could not account for hundreds of guns received from manufacturers in the years immediately proximate to the Sniper Attacks. It was also claimed that Bull's Eye continued to maintain poor records during its course of business even after Muhammad and Malvo were caught and the weapon used was traced to their store. Bushmaster was included in the suit because it allegedly continued to utilize Bull's Eye as its dealer despite an awareness of Bull's Eye negligent practices.
[edit] The Settlement
After losing several decisions as the case made its way through the courts in 2003 and 2004, Bull's Eye and Bushmaster contributed to an out-of-court US$2.5 million settlement. Bushmaster further agreed to educate its dealers on safe business practices as well.
After the settlement was announced, WTOP, a radio station in Washington, DC reported that Sonia Wills, the mother of sniper victim Conrad Johnson, said her family took part in the lawsuit more to send a message than to collect money from Bushmaster Firearms and Bull's Eye Shooter Supply. "I think a message was delivered that you should be responsible and accountable for the actions of irresponsible people when you make these guns and put them in their hands," she said.
[edit] Lessons For Other Gun Shops
The case of Bull's Eye Shooter Supply illustrates the potential problems that Federal Firearms Licensed gun shops might face.
[edit] Turnover
The first lesson is to keep employee turnover to a minimum. During Bull's Eye's course of business, turnover was high with some employees working there only for short periods of time.
A high degree of turnover prevented the store's staff from gaining the experience necessary to avoid straw purchases among gun purchasers.
Turnover may have also contributed to thefts and possible undocumented sales from Bull's Eye that left a sizable number of guns unaccounted for, especially since many people who no longer worked there might have still had access to the store.
[edit] Records
The second lesson is very basic, but critical, for gun stores in that all transactions must be recorded and a proper set of procedures must be in place for storing the records after a transaction is completed.
The high rate of turnover contributed to the poor recordkeeping at Borgelt's shop because each employee would often place records in a different drawer or cabinet and, over time, records would simply be misplaced. Bull's Eye was cited multiple times by the BATFE for its sloppy recordkeeping prior to the Beltway Sniper Attacks.
[edit] Security
The third lesson is to secure all firearms behind a locked display case or behind a counter. This is especially critical on weekends when gun shops are likely to be crowded with people browsing.
The Bushmaster rifle that was stolen by Malvo was displayed so that customers could handle it. It has been speculated that Malvo simply shoplifted the weapon when the clerk(s) was(were) not looking.
