The AR-15 rifle used by a gunman in Louisville, Kentucky to kill five people and injured nine others in a bank in Monday will one day be auctioned off and be “back on the streets,” because of a Kentucky state law, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg (D) said Tuesday.
“This may be even more shocking than it is to those of us locally who know this and are dealing with this, but under current Kentucky law, the assault rifle that was used to murder five of our neighbors and shoot at rescuing police officers will one day be auctioned off,” Greenberg said during a press conference. “Think about that — that murder weapon will be back on the streets one day under Kentucky’s current law.”
Police said the shooter bought the AR-15 legally in Louisville last week.
Currently in Kentucky, guns and ammunition that are confiscated or turned over to law enforcement agencies in the state must be handed over to Kentucky State Police for auction to federally-licensed firearms dealers. The money form the sale go towards purchasing equipment used by police like body armor and bodycams, Insider reported.
Earlier this year, Greenberg passed a policy to have the firing pin removed from the confiscated guns before they’re turned over to the state.
“That’s all that the current law allows us to do. That’s not enough. It’s time to change this law and let us destroy illegal guns and destroy the guns that have been used to kill our friends and kill our neighbors,” Greenberg said.
“Let’s change the state laws that would make me a criminal for trying too hard to stop the real evil criminals who are taking other people’s lives and who are eager to make a spectacle of mass murder,” he said, adding, “The laws we have now are enabling violence and murder.”
