Gun shops that sold weapons trafficked into Washington, DC, sued by nation's capital and Maryland

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three gun shops that sold nearly three dozen firearms to a man who trafficked the weapons in and around Washington, D.C., are facing a new lawsuit jointly filed Tuesday by attorneys general for Maryland and the nation’s capital.

At least nine of those guns have now been found at crime scene and or with people wanted on warrants for violent offenses, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. Many of the others are still unaccounted for.

“Our city is being flooded with illegal weapons,” he said. “All three of these stores ignored the red flags.”

The stores are accused of failing to respond to warning signs that the guns would be sold to other people, including bulk purchasing and repetitive purchases, known as straw purchasing, according to the lawsuit filed with the gun safety group Everytown Law.

“Many of us watch the news and we wonder where all these guns are coming from,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “Now we have part of the answer.”

The lawsuit is the first to be filed jointly and comes after other civil suits against gun shops filed around the country, including New Jersey, Minnesota, Chicago and Philadelphia. Kansas City also settled a suit last year against a gun dealer accused of ignoring evidence that guns were being sold illegally.

Washington, D.C., has struggled with gun violence in recent years. The nation’s capital saw its highest number of homicides in more than three decades last year, and more than 90% of those were carried out with firearms, the suit states.

Schwalb said that the supply of weapons is fueled partly by straw purchasing. About 95% of guns recovered in Washington, D.C., which has strict gun laws, originally come from nearby Maryland or Virginia, he said. While some of those are stolen weapons, more come from illegal straw sales, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The three gun shops sued Tuesday are accused of selling a total of nearly three dozen similar weapons to Demetrius Minor over a seven-month period in 2021. Nearly all were trafficked to others, including people who aren’t legally allowed to buy firearms, the suit alleges. One gun, for example, was found in a D.C. hotel room along with an illegal large-capacity magazine and another was found at the home of a stabbing suspect, the suit says.

Minor pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license last year in a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. An attorney who represented Minor could not immediately be reached for comment.

The suit was filed against Engage Armament LLC, United Gun Shop and Atlantic Guns, Inc., all located in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland. It seeks unspecified damages and court action to halt any future straw purchases. The stores did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.