SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle police worked with Army officials Monday to track down the history of a nonfunctional missile launcher that showed up at a weapons buyback program and determine whether it was legal or possibly stolen from the military.
A man standing outside the event
Saturday bought the military weapon for $100 from another person there,
according to Detective Mark Jamieson.
The single-use device is a launch tube
assembly for a Stinger portable surface-to-air missile and already had
been used. As a controlled military item, it is not available to
civilians through any surplus or disposal program offered by the
government, according to Jamieson.
Seattle police have contacted Army officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma deputy chief Nick Metz said Monday.
"Once it's brought on base and
investigators have a chance to look at it, they'll see what they can
determine," Army spokesman Joe Kubistek said Monday. "It's too early to
give any information on it until we have hands-on access to see it and
take a look at it."
Police witnessed the private exchange of the military launch tube
near the gun buyback event, where gun buyers tempted those standing in
long lines to turn in their weapons with cash.
"It was absolutely crazy what we saw out there," Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn
said at a news conference Monday where officials announced they had
collected a total of 716 weapons, including four confirmed as stolen.
Officers saw guns changing
private hands without knowing whether the person buying the gun had the
legal right to buy it, and those transactions are occurring all the
time, McGinn said.
He added that the private sales
of the missile launch tube and other weapons illustrate the need for
comprehensive background checks as proposed by President Barack Obama, as well as other regulations at the state level.
While there were private gun
buyers at the periphery of Saturday's event, Metz said a large majority
of people chose to wait in line and get less money because they wanted
to make sure they got the weapons off the streets.
"These are very dangerous weapons," Metz said. "They may not have looked very pretty, but (they're) definitely operable."
The firearms collected included 348 pistols, 364 rifles and three
so-called street sweepers, or shotguns that include a high capacity
magazine capable of holding twelve 12-gauge shotgun shells.The program allowed people to anonymously turn in their weapons for a shopping gift card worth up to $200 -- $100 for each handgun, rifle or shotgun turned in, and $200 for each gun classified as an assault weapon under state law. Officials distributed about $70,000 in gift cards at Saturday's event.
Police took possession of the launch tube Saturday. Police said the man who had purchased it agreed to accept a gift card as compensation if the launch tube is not returned to him, though the man indicated he wanted to keep it if he was legally able to do so.
McGinn said he wanted to plan another buyback event soon and urged more donations to the program.
Meanwhile, police said people who
wanted to turn in guns could do so at any time outside a buyback
program, though they wouldn't be compensated for it. LINK
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