As investigators work to piece together clues behind Monday’s mass shooting in Manhattan, a central question may be how the Las Vegas man was able to acquire his weapons, given Nevada’s strict gun control laws.
The gunman, 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura, used a M4-style semiautomatic rifle and had a .357 caliber revolver at the time of the attack, according to law enforcement sources. The revolver was legally purchased, sources told ABC News.
The shooter had a concealed weapon permit issued in Nevada, according to investigators. It is not immediately clear how the shooter acquired the rifle, which was used in the incident.
It is against New York state laws to transport or possess assault-type weapons.
While Nevada does not have a similar ban, the state has undertaken several measures since 2017, when 60 people were killed and hundreds were injured in a mass shooting in Las Vegas, to limit firearm access to people who pose a danger to themselves and others, according to David Pucino, the legal director and deputy chief counsel for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“In our most recent report card for states, Nevada scored a B- when it came to gun laws,” he told ABC News.
Here is a breakdown of Nevada’s gun laws.
Background checks
Nevada is an open carry state for both firearms and larger rifles and shotguns. Any adult over 18 can purchase a firearm without a permit.
In 2020, a law was enacted that required all private firearm purchases to undergo a background check.
Concealed carry permit
Nevada allows local law enforcement to give concealed carry permits to handgun users if they meet certain criteria.
The handgun owner must be over 21 years old, pass a background check and complete a certified course on gun safety, according to state law.
Concealed carry applicants who have a criminal conviction, are on parole, have been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to a mental health facility in the five years before the application, or have a record of habitual alcohol or drug use are prohibited from getting the permit, according to state law.
Places where guns are prohibited
Although open carry laws allow firearm users to have their weapons on them, several locations in Nevada are off-limits, according to state law.
Gun owners cannot take their weapons into public schools, government buildings, such as courts and jails, and any business that has clear signage that it prohibits firearms, according to state law.
State laws allow for guns to be brought into hospitals, places of worship, sports arenas and parks that do not have this signage.
Extreme Risk Protection Order
In 2019, Nevada passed its version of a “red flag” law that allows the courts to remove firearms from a person if they have been proven to be a danger.
Under the Extreme Risk Protection Order, individuals, law enforcement, family or household members can file a petition demonstrating to a judge that an individual poses a danger to themselves or others.
The subject of the petition has the right to appeal the order if a judge approves it, according to the law.
Firearm prohibitions for mental health issues
Nevada prohibits firearms to anyone who has “been adjudicated as mentally ill or has been committed to any mental health facility by a court” in any state.
Additionally, law enforcement cannot approve a concealed carry permit to any applicant who has “been voluntarily or involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility during the immediately preceding 5 years,” according to state law.
Device safety, storage
Nevada does not have a law that mandates firearms be stored securely when not in use.
In 2023, the state enacted a law that requires licensed gun dealers to provide gun owners with a locking device for their weapons and have signage in their stores that “informs a buyer that the negligent storage of a firearm may result in imprisonment or a fine.”
Ghost guns
In 2022, Nevada enacted a ban on ghost guns, which are firearms without serial numbers that are sold as kits that users assemble on their own.
It is one of 15 states that created legislation regulating those weapons, which law enforcement has flagged as untraceable.
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