Federal agents say a gun used to kill an Omaha, Nebraska police officer was purchased in suburban Atlanta. The woman who purchased it has been charged with a federal felony, agents say.
JONESBORO, GA (WXIA) -- Federal agents say a gun used to kill an Omaha, Nebraska police officer was purchased in suburban Atlanta. The woman who purchased it has been charged with a federal felony, agents say.
Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents say a woman named Jalita Johnson purchased the gun at Arrowhead Pawn, a Clayton County pawn shop, in April. In May, the agents say her boyfriend used the same gun in a shootout that killed a Nebraska police officer.
"What happened in this instance is not unusual," said State Senator Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) Wednesday. He and other critics of Georgia gun laws say the sale of a gun here, traceable to a killing in another state, is all too commonplace.
Arrowhead Pawn shop was a busy place at midday Wednesday. The owner, Arthur Bank, declined to comment on the sale of the gun that killed Omaha police Officer Kerrie Orozco. But federal agents say there is nothing to indicate the Clayton County shop did anything wrong under Georgia law.
"When they purchase a firearm legally, you have no control over what they do next. Whether that's legal, illegal or what," said Jerry Henry of a second amendment advocate group, which contends Georgia is a safer place because guns are readily available for legal purchase here. But Sen. Fort says the gun pipeline from Georgia to other states is well-documented.
"We ought to be, as Georgians, ashamed that guns purchased here in Georgia are being used in crimes, whether it be Nebraska or New York," Fort said.
Federal agents say that the woman who purchased the gun at Arrowhead was arrested July 6 on the charge of making a false representation in the purchase of a firearm, which is a felony under the federal code.
