http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_318331.html
By Josie Roberts
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
A 20-something female walks into a gun shop, wearing a pink sweater and pearls, and asks to buy an AK-47. Half-dozen men, several in flannel, look up from the rows of gun displays.
They had holsters. She had heels.
I knew I looked out of place at a gun store, but I wanted to see how difficult it would be to buy an assault weapon in Pittsburgh, just days after Keith “Spud†Watts Jr. was murdered with an AK-47 knock-off outside Carrick High School.
I went alone to Firearms Unlimited in Bridgeville two days after the shooting.
I parked in back of the wooden-paneled shop, built into the side of a hill off Route 50 and rang the doorbell to gain entrance. Inside, it was packed. A hundred rifles lined the walls where glass cases of handguns didn’t.
Manager Randy Canella looked up from a sale and asked if I needed any help. “I’m looking for a long gun,†I said. “I want an AK-47.â€
Canella took a drag of his cigarette.
“I have some in back,†he said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.†He brought out three models and set them on the counter. I stood with crossed arms while he explained the guns’ features, rotating them on their sides and pointing out the magazine. I tried not to flinch.
Canella finally asked, “Why do you want this gun?â€
I answered, “Why not?â€
The men in the store laughed, and I asked how to load the bullets.
The Romanian Century Arms, WASR-10, 7.62-x-39 mm rifle was the cheapest at $389.95, or $422.25 after tax. It was a clone, like most AK-47s in America. The first President Bush made it illegal to import the Russian and Chinese military models. The knock-offs look like AK-47s, fire like AK-47s and are very accurate at short distances. I said I’d take it.
Canella stopped me.
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but if you want a gun for self-protection, a shotgun would be better,†he said, assuming that’s the only reason for this blonde in a twin sweater set to need an AK-47. “It’s easier to load for people who aren’t familiar with firing a gun, and it does a lot of damage.â€
“My dad recommended this model,†I said, searching for an excuse.
Except for a possible stray bullet in the chamber, I shouldn’t have been worried. In America, it’s legal to buy guns.
Even this one, a semiautomatic rifle developed for Soviets tank crews to kill from a mile away. Joe Dominick, Allegheny County’s chief deputy coroner, said shots from an AK-47 inflict trauma all over the body. The bullet can blow through several body parts, cutting through a hand to the torso through the other hand. And rarely is an AK-47 fired just once. At least eight shots were fired at Watts’ Geo Tracker.
Under Pennsylvania law, gun shops can sell a rifle to anybody 18 or older from any state with no criminal record. An AK-47 is a rifle, and I could purchase it on the spot. I didn’t need a reason or even a gun permit.
But there was a catch. As a new resident in Pennsylvania, I did not have a driver’s license from the state. I thought my U.S. passport would be sufficient to buy a rifle, but Canella disagreed. He wanted a government-issued photo ID with my present address and sent me across the street to the Driver’s License Center.
I waited four days for New York State to fax a transcript of my driving record to PennDOT. With my new driver’s license in hand, I went back to Firearms Unlimited last Tuesday. Cop cars blocked several stalls when I pulled into the parking lot. Three people were being questioned. A woman had her hands behind her back. A violent crime impact team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was investigating a possible straw purchase, when a person with a clean record buys firearms for convicted criminals. I left the engine running for a second and hesitated to unlock the doors. I was the only one not armed.
But I was here to pick up my AK-47. I sidestepped the commotion and climbed the rickety stairs to the entrance.
“I don’t have to sell anybody a gun I don’t want to, and I don’t have to have a reason,†Canella said when I got inside. “It’s more gut than anything else. It’s a major concern for us, and it’s a duty.â€
He recognized me, “the AK-47 girl,†and tried to steer me toward the shotgun again. “If you were my wife, daughter or sister, I would tell you to get a shotgun, but if your mind’s made up, your mind’s made up,†he said. “It’s my job to advise, but you make the decision.â€
I had to fill out a federal form with my basic information and answer 13 easy questions about whether or not I was a fugitive, had mental illnesses or was an illegal alien. The store called Instacheck, a state program that surveys police records, and assigned me an approval number within five minutes. Instacheck replaced the former, mandatory five-day waiting period and the state police have found approximately 60 percent of individuals trying to buy a gun can be approved instantly. Firearms Unlimited owner Robert Carola guessed that number is closer to 95 percent.
Police do not know how the gun used to kill Watts was obtained. Derwin Milligan, 17, of Climax Street in Beltzhoover has been charged with criminal homicide in the death, and is not old enough to purchase a firearm legally. The murder weapon has not been found yet, police said.
I did not buy any bullets. I did not want to have any rounds lying around when I didn’t even know how to load a gun; I told Canella I wanted to wait until after I took the gun safety course he recommended. He was proud. A poster on the entranceway advertises National Rifle Association training courses. I ripped off one of the slips of paper with the Web site address, www.safe-tee.net. Carola said he takes pride in selling guns to “upstanding citizens†for sport or self protection.
Firearms Unlimited followed all of the laws. Canella even cajoled me into a four-day wait period while I applied for the Pennsylvania driver’s license.
I had entered the store at 1:22 p.m. Store clerk Brandon Moore loaded the gun into my trunk at 2:22 p.m. The actual purchase took an hour because of cash register technicalities.
Six days after Watts was murdered, four days after I applied for a driver’s license, one hour after entering the store and five minutes after a criminal record check, I legally owned a semiautomatic AK-47-style rifle.
Josie Roberts can be reached at [email protected] or (412) 380-5609.
By Josie Roberts
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
A 20-something female walks into a gun shop, wearing a pink sweater and pearls, and asks to buy an AK-47. Half-dozen men, several in flannel, look up from the rows of gun displays.
They had holsters. She had heels.
I knew I looked out of place at a gun store, but I wanted to see how difficult it would be to buy an assault weapon in Pittsburgh, just days after Keith “Spud†Watts Jr. was murdered with an AK-47 knock-off outside Carrick High School.
I went alone to Firearms Unlimited in Bridgeville two days after the shooting.
I parked in back of the wooden-paneled shop, built into the side of a hill off Route 50 and rang the doorbell to gain entrance. Inside, it was packed. A hundred rifles lined the walls where glass cases of handguns didn’t.
Manager Randy Canella looked up from a sale and asked if I needed any help. “I’m looking for a long gun,†I said. “I want an AK-47.â€
Canella took a drag of his cigarette.
“I have some in back,†he said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.†He brought out three models and set them on the counter. I stood with crossed arms while he explained the guns’ features, rotating them on their sides and pointing out the magazine. I tried not to flinch.
Canella finally asked, “Why do you want this gun?â€
I answered, “Why not?â€
The men in the store laughed, and I asked how to load the bullets.
The Romanian Century Arms, WASR-10, 7.62-x-39 mm rifle was the cheapest at $389.95, or $422.25 after tax. It was a clone, like most AK-47s in America. The first President Bush made it illegal to import the Russian and Chinese military models. The knock-offs look like AK-47s, fire like AK-47s and are very accurate at short distances. I said I’d take it.
Canella stopped me.
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but if you want a gun for self-protection, a shotgun would be better,†he said, assuming that’s the only reason for this blonde in a twin sweater set to need an AK-47. “It’s easier to load for people who aren’t familiar with firing a gun, and it does a lot of damage.â€
“My dad recommended this model,†I said, searching for an excuse.
Except for a possible stray bullet in the chamber, I shouldn’t have been worried. In America, it’s legal to buy guns.
Even this one, a semiautomatic rifle developed for Soviets tank crews to kill from a mile away. Joe Dominick, Allegheny County’s chief deputy coroner, said shots from an AK-47 inflict trauma all over the body. The bullet can blow through several body parts, cutting through a hand to the torso through the other hand. And rarely is an AK-47 fired just once. At least eight shots were fired at Watts’ Geo Tracker.
Under Pennsylvania law, gun shops can sell a rifle to anybody 18 or older from any state with no criminal record. An AK-47 is a rifle, and I could purchase it on the spot. I didn’t need a reason or even a gun permit.
But there was a catch. As a new resident in Pennsylvania, I did not have a driver’s license from the state. I thought my U.S. passport would be sufficient to buy a rifle, but Canella disagreed. He wanted a government-issued photo ID with my present address and sent me across the street to the Driver’s License Center.
I waited four days for New York State to fax a transcript of my driving record to PennDOT. With my new driver’s license in hand, I went back to Firearms Unlimited last Tuesday. Cop cars blocked several stalls when I pulled into the parking lot. Three people were being questioned. A woman had her hands behind her back. A violent crime impact team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was investigating a possible straw purchase, when a person with a clean record buys firearms for convicted criminals. I left the engine running for a second and hesitated to unlock the doors. I was the only one not armed.
But I was here to pick up my AK-47. I sidestepped the commotion and climbed the rickety stairs to the entrance.
“I don’t have to sell anybody a gun I don’t want to, and I don’t have to have a reason,†Canella said when I got inside. “It’s more gut than anything else. It’s a major concern for us, and it’s a duty.â€
He recognized me, “the AK-47 girl,†and tried to steer me toward the shotgun again. “If you were my wife, daughter or sister, I would tell you to get a shotgun, but if your mind’s made up, your mind’s made up,†he said. “It’s my job to advise, but you make the decision.â€
I had to fill out a federal form with my basic information and answer 13 easy questions about whether or not I was a fugitive, had mental illnesses or was an illegal alien. The store called Instacheck, a state program that surveys police records, and assigned me an approval number within five minutes. Instacheck replaced the former, mandatory five-day waiting period and the state police have found approximately 60 percent of individuals trying to buy a gun can be approved instantly. Firearms Unlimited owner Robert Carola guessed that number is closer to 95 percent.
Police do not know how the gun used to kill Watts was obtained. Derwin Milligan, 17, of Climax Street in Beltzhoover has been charged with criminal homicide in the death, and is not old enough to purchase a firearm legally. The murder weapon has not been found yet, police said.
I did not buy any bullets. I did not want to have any rounds lying around when I didn’t even know how to load a gun; I told Canella I wanted to wait until after I took the gun safety course he recommended. He was proud. A poster on the entranceway advertises National Rifle Association training courses. I ripped off one of the slips of paper with the Web site address, www.safe-tee.net. Carola said he takes pride in selling guns to “upstanding citizens†for sport or self protection.
Firearms Unlimited followed all of the laws. Canella even cajoled me into a four-day wait period while I applied for the Pennsylvania driver’s license.
I had entered the store at 1:22 p.m. Store clerk Brandon Moore loaded the gun into my trunk at 2:22 p.m. The actual purchase took an hour because of cash register technicalities.
Six days after Watts was murdered, four days after I applied for a driver’s license, one hour after entering the store and five minutes after a criminal record check, I legally owned a semiautomatic AK-47-style rifle.
Josie Roberts can be reached at [email protected] or (412) 380-5609.
