(WXYZ) — Was the accused MSU shooting suspect allowed to have a gun? That’s a question that’s been hard to answer with clarity for the last few days, but now more details are emerging about that.
Police say the man who gunned down 8 Michigan State University students legally purchased the two 9 mm weapons that officers found on him.
“We can confirm that the shooter had 2 handguns on his person when he was located,” said MSU Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman.
Police say Anthony McRae turned one of those guns on himself as officers approached him Monday night following the mass shooting on campus that shattered so many lives.
Federal law enforcement sources confirm to the 7 Investigators that McRae purchased those guns in 2021. And neither weapon was used when McRae was arrested in 2019 for Carrying a Concealed Weapon, a felony.
Even though the 43-year-old legally purchased and registered that Luger .380, he did not have a permit to carry it. Prosecutors accepted a guilty plea to a misdemeanor and McRae served 18 months of probation.
“For that case, that weapon is still in Lansing Police Department custody,” said Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee Thursday.
Because the 43-year-old had no felony convictions, McRae was allowed to legally purchase weapons. But police on Thursday said he never registered the two new guns he bought in 2021.
“When you purchase a handgun, a pistol sales record is executed where you fill it out. You have ten days from that day to turn your copy into your local police department. And if you don't do it, then your gun never gets registered,” said Action Impact Firearms owner Bill Kucyk.
Kucyk said not registering a gun is a felony. He also told the 7 Investigators that it’s likely the federal background check done during the purchase would not have revealed mental health issues.
“The only way a background check would reveal a mental illness diagnosis is either through them admitting it or to a court order-- and somebody went before a judge and ordered this person hospitalized for treatment. A background check would reveal that- but anything short of that, no one's going to know,” said Kucyk
There has been a lot of talk about whether McRae was dealing with mental illness; it’s not clear yet if there was ever a diagnosis.
Law enforcement officials have not said where McRae purchased the two new guns allegedly used in the MSU shooting. He admitted to officers during the 2019 arrest that he got that gun at a Lansing pawn shop.
