On Monday afternoon Ed Henson, the owner of the gun shop where ISIS terrorist Omar Mateen purchased his weapons, held a press conference in Port St. Lucie , Florida where he educated the media on the state’s gun laws. Henson was adamant that politics would not be what he focused on and would only stick to the facts. “An evil person came in here and legally purchased two firearm from us,” he stated, “And if he hadn't gotten them from us, I’m sure he would have gotten them from another local gun store in the area.”
The gun store owner, who is a retired New York City police officer, make it crystal clear that Mateen passed a complete background check conducted by Florida law enforcement and the FBI. Henson also put an end to a false report that seemed to be floating around, “There is no such thing as an abbreviated background check, even though that has been wrongly reported.” And according to Henson his shop has never sold any body armor in its history.
Henson also slowly walked the press through a scenario that demonstrated that even a credentialed police officer needed to go through a process to purchase a firearm in Florida:
If a law enforcement officer walks into this gun store, in full uniform with a firearm on their side, that officer cannot make a purchase on a firearm. If you can believe that. If that officer has a concealed carry permit in addition to his credentials he can make a purchase. There is a full back ground check done on that officer at that time. Hard to believe, but that's the truth. If the officer has no concealed carry permit, that officer has a three-day wait, and that doesn’t include the day he purchased the gun or any holidays or weekends.
To cap off his comments, Henson pleaded with the media to stay focused, keep the facts straight, and keep the victims in their prayers. “I just hope that you do some truthful reporting and get to the facts and stay focused, at least for the incident and say your prayers for the victims. It is horrific and we all feel that same pain.”
Transcript below:
MSNBC
MSNBC Live
June 13, 2016
4:04:40 PM EasternED HENSON: … with all the ATF rules and regulations. We have a good working relationship with ATF, and all the law enforcement community. ATF did not shut us down earlier today. We decided to shut the doors so that ATF could complete their inspection and investigation without any distractions or delay.
As you can see the large group here. We didn't want a bunch of people inside the store while they tried to do their investigations. If you have any questions about the inspection and compliance, you can contact Carlos Gonzalez in the Miami office of ATF.
I'll say as a former police officer, I would also like to commend the Orlando police department and all the law enforcement agencies that responded there. They did an outstanding job and I have been following it some of it on the news. I wish them all the best. I personally worked under the twin towers. I retired in March of ‘02 and I also was a first responder to the flight 587, which went down in Rockaway Park. I have an idea of what they're facing in this investigation and it is horrific. So my feelings go out to the law enforcement people as well.
I would like to avoid any political issues and stick to the facts regarding this case. An evil person came in here and legally purchased two firearm from us. And if he hadn't gotten them from us, I’m sure he would have gotten them from another local gun store in the area. This man held multiple security licenses. He had an armed and unarmed license. He pass a background check that every single person that purchases a firearm in the state of Florida undergoes.
Let me say that again. A full back ground check was performed by Florida department of law enforcement with the coordination and agreement of the FBI, in however they conduct their backgrounds. There is no such thing as an abbreviated back ground check, even though that has been wrongly reported. On another note, I will tell you this for those who don't know.
If a law enforcement officer walks into this gun store, in full uniform with a firearm on their side, that officer cannot make a purchase on a firearm. If you can believe that. If that officer has a concealed carry permit in addition to his credentials he can make a purchase. There is a full back ground check done on that officer at that time. Hard to believe, but that's the truth. If the officer has no concealed carry permit, that officer has a three-day wait, and that doesn’t include the day he purchased the gun or any holidays or weekends.
I have no information regarding where this evil person took his security classes so I can't really discuss that with you. I can tell you, I recommend you contact the Florida Department of Agriculture Division of Licensing. They're responsible for any security licenses being issued as well as the concealed carry permit in the state of Florida.
There have been a couple questions directed to me regarding whether this evil person bought body armor here. Number one, he is familiar to me, vaguely. I don't know him personally. He has been here, obviously, he purchased two guns legally. I have no recollection of anybody asking for body armor, number one. Number two, we've never sold body armor and we don't currently sell any body armor.
Any other questions, I don't know what I can tell you. I just hope that you do some truthful reporting and get to the facts and stay focused, at least for the incident and say your prayers for the victims. It is horrific and we all feel that same pain.
