Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that the guns used in the San Bernardino shooting were modified, which means they were illegal under state law.
The Independent reported that the rifles violated the ban on assault weapons in the state. According to San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik used two .223-caliber semiautomatic weapons and two 9mm semiautomatic pistols when they attacked a Christmas party at the Inland Regional Center, killing 14 people and leaving 21 wounded.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the guns were customized versions of the AR-15 model. One of the rifles was manufactured by DPMS Inc., while the other was made by Smith & Wesson. ATF special agent Meredith Davis said these guns can be bought legally, but they were altered to become more powerful.
The Smith & Wesson gun was turned into a fully automatic firing weapon, while the DPMS rifle was customized to carry more bullets in its magazine. Those modifications made the weapons illegal under the ban on assault weapon in California.
Meanwhile, WRAL reported that due to the Paris and San Bernardino terror attacks, local gun sales spiked. During the Black Friday, the FBI processed over 185,340 background checks for gun purchases. This is the first time that many people applied for gun purchases, which means more people want to buy guns.
It is legal to sell and own assault weapons with fixed magazines in California. Since 2000, the state prohibited the sale of magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds.
Technicians are currently investigating the weapons used by the radicalized ISIS supporters. An investigation is also going on about who bought the guns for them. Meanwhile, the handguns used were reportedly unaltered. The weapons were recovered after a shootout that killed both Farook and Malik.
