While the families of the innocent nine people murdered by Dylann Roof three weeks ago still haven’t come out of the shock, FBI Director James Comey blasts the bomb that lapse in the FBI’s background check system is responsible for such a tragic murder case.
Dylann Roof fired nine good people at a bible study with his .45-caliber weapon at Emanuel A.M.E Church in Charleston. This massacre took place on June 17th which stunned the whole nation.
Comey confessed that there is a connection between this man’s gun purchase and an error on FBI’s background check system. Disturb in local law enforcement is also supposed to be a huge factor. Comey said that the loss of these worshiping lives was very painful and he has order a 30 day review to find out the lacking and strengthen the security.
Roof was a racist drug user. It is to be noted that this man shouldn’t have been allowed to purchase a gun.
Roof had been arrested in February for possessing narcotics. This charge alone could restrict him from purchasing a gun. But according to Comey, the data were not correctly fed into the main database of criminal records that are submitted by all the states, local, federal law enforcement agencies and in the records kept in bureau. So the result being, FBI examiner’s failure to get Roof’s criminal record, the criminal got permission to buy a gun.
The FBI examiner has to run checks under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is based on database on crime reports. Comey said that Roof’s previous admission of drug crime was enough for the examiner to restrict him from buying a gun. But as the data were not submitted properly, Roof skipped.
Comey said he had spoken to the examiner and she had followed all the procedures properly. But being the examiner of such a heinous massacre, the examiner left heartbroken.
This failure has lead FBI to renew scrutiny of the background check system.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley have also sought to keep no stone unturned to tighten gun control laws.
The senior vice president at the Center for American progress, Arkadi Gerney has pointed on previous issues like the Virginia Tech Massacre, the Columbia massacre and countless everyday shooting and he thinks gaps in background check system is responsible for all these.
The solution for this problem is that all types of crime reports should reach FBI system and every gun sale must go through background check of all sorts.
