At least two Maine people could be violating U.S. federal laws by helping a Nova Scotia man get the guns he used in the April 2020 Portapique killings that killed 22 people.
After being killed by police shot at a gas station in Enfieldin Nova Scotia, he found five guns in his possession.
Investigators tracked down three of the weapons HoultonMaine, a small town less than seven kilometers from the New Brunswick border frequented by the shooter.
Court records and documents released by public inquiry explain how investigators believe Gabriel Wortman they got it.
They indicate that a longtime friend to Houlton offered him a gun and took another from this man. He also arranged to buy a rifle after visiting a gun show in the small Maine town.
The shooter, who did not have a gun license, illegally imported these guns into Canada. And, according to American law, he shouldn’t get them.
In the United States, it is illegal for an American to transfer, sell, trade, give, deliver, or deliver a firearm to a person who is not a U.S. resident. Anyone guilty of these violations is liable to fines or imprisonment.
Offenses do not always end up in court
It appears that no one in the United States has been charged with providing firearms used by the shooter.
A retired U.S. federal prosecutor said that’s not surprising.
Margaret Groban explained that gun offenses rarely come up in U.S. courts unless the accused is considered a danger to the community.
Although it is technically a violent crime and people say, “Why don’t you prosecute crimes on books?”, There are no resources available to do so.says one who worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and now teaches gun law at the University of Maine.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has no ongoing investigation.
ang FBI sent questions about the case to Canadian law enforcement saying he could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) passed the questions to the Americans.
Officials said they were working on their international counterparts at any decision to file charges for offenses committed outside of Canada will be reviewed by the appropriate law enforcement agency.
At the beginning of its investigation, the RCMP He said knowing where the guns came from to determine if someone helped shoot was a critical part of his investigation.
Summaries of police statements released on a legal challenge launched by CBC News and other media inform us about this part of the investigation.
They showed that, in the weeks following the killings, an agent of FBI conducted interviews with Houltonjust like RCMP and the ATF.
One of those they spoke to was Sean Conlogue, a longtime friend of the shooter who often hosts him and his partner, Lisa Banfieldsa Houlton.
The shooter had packages delivered to his residence, including motorcycle parts and a light bar used to dress the replica police vehicle used during the massacre.
Sean Conlogue refused to talk to CBC News when two journalists visited his home in late March.
But in his testimony to the Mass Casualty Commission, we learned that he and the shooter met in New Brunswick a few years ago. They shared a friend, Fredericton’s former lawyer Tom Evans.
Coincidentally, the shooter got one of his five guns, a Ruger Mini 14, from the estate of the lawyer after his death.
Three others are from Maine, and court records indicate that two previously owned Sean Conloguea semi-automatic gun and a semi-automatic pistol.
Sean Conlonge He said he provided one of the guns to shoot in exchange for the services provided. The other one, the shooter would have taken him home.
Both handguns are considered restricted firearms in Canada.
Two weeks after the shooting, the Canadian government announced a ban on 1,500 types of firearms, including two shotguns used in the killings, the Ruger Mini and a rifle Colt M4.
It is illegal to apply them extra rounds through overcapacity magazines, as the shooter did.
The third weapon purchased illegally
As for the third gun from Maine, police believe the shooter got the brand’s semi-automatic rifle Colt at a gun show Houlton.
One of the organizers, Paul Harrisonsays a buyer needs to submit a background check through FBI before taking up arms.
He added this is not a good thing with someone buying a gun for someone who is forbidden to buy it.
” People have been imprisoned here for years for doing this, so it’s well known that you don’t do it! “
In his opinion, it is not difficult for the authorities to know who bought a particular model over the weekend, since all sales are accompanied by a paper trail.
Authorities appear to have traced the rifle’s path, but the exact details of the transaction and who helped shoot remain unclear in public records.
According to the summary of that statement Sean Conlogue made of RCMPhe knew went to the gun show to shoot with the others and bought a gun.
Easy access to guns in Maine
The Mass Casualty Commission plans to release its report on how the shooter got his weapons next week.
Margaret Grobanthe retired prosecutor, says Maine is considered a state of origin where it is easier than elsewhere to get guns.
” Certainly, if weapons were used from Maine, it would be a tragedy, and must be done to ensure that it never happens again. “
HoweverEileen McLaughlina city councilor from Houltonsadly his community is now linked to the tragedy in Nova Scotia.
He admitted that as a frontier town, Houlton is a hallway, but he insists there is little gun violence in his community and Border Patrol agents are conducting surveillance.
People want to blame someone. They want to blame a place, an organization. They mean, “Oh, he brought guns from Houlton.” This is a reputation that is deliberately unfair to a community that strives to promote the laws.he says.
With information fromElizabeth McMillan at D ‘Angela MacIvorng CBC
Source: Radio-Canada
