Pennsylvania
After Trump shooting, gun violence prevention group says Pennsylvania gun laws rank
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The FBI told CBS News the AR-style rifle used by the shooter in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was legally purchased by and registered to the shooter’s father.
Gun legislation is both complex and controversial and the laws change from state to state. Assault rifles, like the one used to shoot Trump, are banned in nine states, including New Jersey and Delaware.
“This is just a fact here in Pennsylvania, and in many states, those rifles are legal to buy,” Josh Fleitman, the campaign director with CeaseFire PA, said. “They were federally banned for 10 years, and once that ban was allowed to expire, we saw the rate of mass shootings triple.”
CeaseFire PA is a nonprofit, non-partisan gun violence prevention organization. The group has long been calling for the state to close a background check loophole for long guns including automatic rifles. Currently, Pennsylvania requires background checks for all handgun sales. It also requires background checks for long guns like assault rifles purchased from a firearm dealer but not those purchased from a private seller.
“Maybe it’s your next-door neighbor, maybe it’s the stranger in the parking lot outside of a gun show — if you’re buying an AR-15 or long gun from them, there’s no background check required,” Fleitman said.
AR-style rifles have been the focus of debate for the last two decades because it’s a weapon commonly used by mass shooters. The sheer velocity at which the bullet exits the gun is much more catastrophic to the human body compared to a handgun.
The Giffords Law Center tracks the correlation between gun laws and gun violence across the United States and gives states a grade on their prevention efforts. The group gives New Jersey an A, Delaware a B+ and Pennsylvania a B, recommending Pennsylvania close the background check loophole, pass a red flag law that prevents a person who might be dangerous or in crisis from having a gun, and enact a safe storage law.
Pennsylvania
1 killed in crash involving horse and buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania State Police say
One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash involving a horse and buggy in Lancaster County on Wednesday afternoon, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 4000 block of Strasburg Road in Salisbury Township, state police said.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police.
Strasburg Road, or Rt. 741, near Hoover Road, is closed in both directions, PennDOT says.
PSP said the Lancaster Patrol Unit, Troop J Forensic Services Unit and Troop J Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialists Unit are on scene investigating the crash.
Pennsylvania
Police hunt for masked suspects who looted a Pennsylvania Lululemon overnight
Pennsylvania police are searching for at least two masked suspects believed to have looted a Lululemon store overnight.
At least two masked men broke into a Lululemon in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police told NBC 10 Philadelphia. Ardmore, a suburb of Philadelphia, is home to about 14,000 people.
The suspected thieves used a sledgehammer to break the glass on the store’s front door, according to police.
Once they gained access, the masked individuals grabbed handfuls of merchandise, security footage shows. The men went in and out of the store several times, grabbing handfuls of items that included coats, vests and shirts from the men’s section, police told local outlet WPVI.
“This is taking it to another level,” Lower Merion Police Superintendent Andy Block told WPVI.
The suspects then loaded the merchandise into a U-Haul truck. Their truck was last seen at the intersection of Bryn Mawr Avenue and Woodbine Avenue, just a few miles from the store, police said.
The entire incident lasted about five minutes, which Block said is longer than usual for this type of burglary.
“Usually, it is because in a smash-and-grab situation they want to get in and get out before they’re identified or anybody’s notified on it,” Block told CBS Philadelphia.
Block told WPVI the store is a popular target for robbers, given that many of its items cost more than $100. Now, he expects the alleged thieves have sold or exchanged the items.
“They’re using it on the market, maybe they’re exchanging it for drugs, or they’re selling it on the black market. It’s a highly sought-after item,” he told WPVI.
Even though police say Lululemon is a popular target, Lt. Michael Keenan of the Lower Merion Police Department still called the incident “out of character.”
“This is an out of character, out of type incident where we don’t normally see people smashing windows in the middle of the night. But, certainly this is something that is distinct,” Keenan told NBC 10 Philadelphia.
The store still opened Tuesday, with a banner covering the smashed glass on the door, according to Fox 29. Gina Picciano, a general manager at a restaurant across the street, said it was a frightening incident.
“I walked out here with my bartender and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Picciano told Fox 29.
The same store was previously robbed in May 2024. Thieves stole more than $10,000 worth of merchandise during that incident, NBC 10 Philadelphia reports.
The Independent has contacted the Lower Merion Police Department and Lululemon for comment.
Pennsylvania
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