Weapons an easy buy

THE WASHINGTON POST

April 18, 2007

On Feb. 9, Cho Seung-Hui walked into a pawnshop on Main Street in Blacksburg, Va., directly across the street from the Virginia Tech campus, and picked up one of the guns he would use in his deadly rampage: a Walther 22-caliber pistol, a relatively inexpensive firearm most commonly used for target shooting or plinking cans.

One month later, on March 16, Cho stepped into Roanoke Firearms, a 3,000-square-foot, full-service gun dealer where more than 350 guns are on display. Cho offered his driver's license, a checkbook that showed a matching address and an immigration card.

Once an instant background check confirmed his clean criminal record, Cho paid $571 to become the legal owner of a Glock 19 and 50 cartridges.

With those two handguns - both easy-to-use, reliable and semiautomatic - Cho, 23, carried out a shooting rampage that left 33 people dead, including himself.

Cho's Roanoke purchase, captured on the store's video surveillance, was unremarkable. The owner described Cho as low-key and clean-cut.

"He filled out the paperwork. I sent it to the state police. They gave him a clean bill of health," said owner John Markell. "We're very careful about screening people ... If we think they're fidgety, we won't sell them a gun. "

Joe Dowdy, owner of JND Pawnbrokers in Blacksburg, said Cho did not buy the gun from him, but came into his shop to pick it up, probably after purchasing it on the Internet. Dowdy said he received the gun from another vendor. Cho came into the shop, showed his ID, filled out some paperwork, waited for a background check and paid a $30 fee.

"People are saying I sold him the firearm," Dowdy said. "I did not. "

Both transactions were legal. Unlike some other states, Virginia has no waiting period before purchasing a handgun; nor does it require registration. State law does limit purchasers to one gun per month.

His deadly weapons

Reports say Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui had two common handguns in his possesion during his killing spree on the campus Monday.

GLOCK 19

Country of origin: Austria

Caliber: 9mm

Capacity: 10, 15, 17 rounds

Length: 6.85 inches

Weight: 23.46 ounces

Retail price: About $400

Cho Reportedly Paid $571*

*Including ammunition

WALTHER P22

Country of origin: Germany

Caliber: .22 long

Capacity: 10 rounds

Length: 6.3 inches

Weight: 15 ounces

Retail price: About $300

SOURCES: WWW.GUNDIRECTORY.COM; CNN

Where he got them

ATF agents followed the trail of the Glock to Roanoke Firearms where Cho bought it more than a month ago, after he had purchased the Walther from another source in town. He is said to have passed a background check after producing a driver's license, checkbook and green card. Virginia does not require a waiting period for the purchase of a handgun.