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Federal Agency Left Out Of Loop In Wake Of Navy Yard Shooting

By: Patrick Madden
September 23, 2013
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While investigators continue to piece together what happened at the Navy Yard during last week's deadly shooting, a report suggests a key law enforcement agency was left out of the loop.

Within hours of the Navy Yard shootings, the FBI was tracing the gunman's recent purchase of a shotgun, sending agents to the shop in Northern Virginia where he bought it.

That job is often left to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, but according to the Associated Press it was the FBI—and not the ATF—that tracked down the gun.

There is no evidence that the FBI did anything wrong in tracing the gun on its own, but the move is unusual. The ATF is the federal agency in charge of tracing traces guns used in crimes, including the military-style semi-automatic rifle used in a rampage at a Connecticut school last year, as well as other recent, high-profile mass shootings.

The FBI declined to comment on the investigation.

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