Could the firearm used in the Old National Bank mass shooting end up back on the street?

Lawmakers explain Kentucky statute on auctioning confiscated firearms

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — as investigators continue to search for the motive behind last week’s mass shooting at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, many questions still remain, including what will happen to the AR-15 used in the attack.
Last week, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg shedding light on a Kentucky statute that would allow public auction’ of confiscated firearms, meaning that same weapon could very well end up back on the streets.

“Two or three days ago, a 10th grader from Kentucky, tweeting that it is easier for me to get a gun, than to get an appointment with a therapist,” says Kentucky Senator, Karen Berg,

Representative Chad Aull, also giving his input on the Kentucky statute, “there is no provision that accompanied the statute that prohibits the state police from reselling a firearm that was used in a in a serious crime, such as what happened in Louisville the other day or any other murder that may occur anywhere in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. So that some times and what people have said is these firearms have been resold and can wander right back out on the streets.”

According to law, KSP can hold a public auction of the confiscated firearms.
The law in Kentucky also prohibits local agencies from destroying the confiscated weapons.
20% of the proceeds from the sales in the auction will go to Kentucky State Police.

“That money goes to supply vests and armor for our police officers. And that I can understand it. But the truth is, each one of these gunshots, on average it’s literally $500,000 by the time you go through all the medical costs, all the legal costs, all the support for the incarceration cost, the lives of every gunshot wound. It’s costing us about $500,000,” added Sen. Berg.

For the last three years, Sen. Berg has introduced a bill that would allow the destruction of firearms.

“These are guns that don’t have an owner. Nobody actually owns these guns. We’re not taking somebody’s gun away from them,” she added on the introduction of House Bill 168 and the reasoning behind.

Representative Aull adding that Kentuckians should not be discouraged but rather fight for what they believe in.

” We can do big things and we should be doing big things as both the state and the country. But that only happens when there’s a groundswell of support and pressure from the public. And so as a law maker, the people who really want to see the laws change need to hear from those folks all the time,” he said.

ABC 36 also reached out to KSP for a statement, Captain Paul Blanton, KSP Public Affairs Branch Commander says, “Kentucky State Police is required to comply with state laws as they are passed. Pursuant to KRS 500.090 and KRS 16.220, all firearms and ammunition confiscated by a state or local law enforcement agency are required to be transferred to the Kentucky State Police for disposition through a public auction to federally licensed firearms dealers.”