Statement from Eric Thompson, President of TGSCOM Inc., On the Tragedy at Northern Illinois University:
GREEN BAY – TGSCOM Inc TheGunSource.com has learned that Stephen Kazmierczak, who killed five people at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, had recently purchased two magazines and a holster from the TGSCOM Inc.web site www.topglock.com. TGSCOM Inc. also operates the Web site used by Cho Seung-Hui to purchase a firearm used in the in the Virginia Tech shootings last April.
As with the Virginia Tech tragedy, TGSCOM Inc. is assisting law enforcement in any way it can during the investigation of this senseless act of violence.
Kazmierczak ordered two 9 mm Glock magazines and a holster for a Glock handgun on February 4, 2008. He received the items via FedEx Ground on February 12, 2008.
In response to these developments, Eric Thompson, TGSCOM Inc. President, issued the following statement:
“All of us at TGSCOM Inc. are saddened and shocked by this senseless act of violence. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of the victims and the students at Northern Illinois University.”
“TGSCOM Inc. is assisting in any way we can with the on-going investigation into Stephen Kazmierczak’s evil actions. We have also included a link to the NIU Memorial Fund that has been established to assist the victims of this tragedy. We have made a donation ourselves. ”
“Today’s discovery is doubly difficult for us at TGSCOM Inc. as we are still saddened by the Virginia Tech murders. As a father, my heart breaks for the parents who lost a son or daughter to the acts of these madmen.
“My hope is that we will all learn from this tragedy and develop solutions that will allow people to better protect themselves from depraved people who do not have any regard for human life.”
TGSCOM Inc. is a federally licensed firearms dealer based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. TGSCOM operates 100 Web sites that sell firearms, firearms’ accessories and hunting supplies. Its Web sites include www.topglock.com, www.thegunsource.com. www.waltherpistols.com and www.ar15pro.com. TGSCOM is located at 1449 S. Broadway Street in Green Bay.
Meanwhile…
HOW TO BUY A GUN ONLINE!
1. Contact a local dealer and arrange for them to conduct the transfer.
Be sure that they are aware that a firearm will be sent to them on your behalf, and that they agree to this. Also, be sure that any and all fees associated with the transfer are agreed upon prior to the order being placed.
2. Have the dealer fax their FFL.
Our fax number is 920-569-4252. They can also mail it to us at:
TGSCOM, Inc
ATTN: FFL
1449 S Broadway
Green Bay, WI 54304
If you have trouble finding a dealer, visit www.FFLfinder.com.
3. Place the order.
You can place the order online via our secure website 24 hours a day 7 days a week, or contact us during business hours at 1-866-456-2521 to place your order.
4. Sit back and relax while we do the rest. (actual copy)
We will call you when your firearm ships. Your firearm is shipped with a copy of our FFL (Federal Firearms License), as well as your contact information so that your local dealer has no problem contacting you upon arrival.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: 2/17/2008
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The online gun dealer who sold a weapon to the Virginia Tech shooter said it was an unnerving coincidence that he also sold handgun accessories to the man who killed five students at Northern Illinois University.
Eric Thompson said his website, www.topglock.com, sold two empty 9 mm Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Steven Kazmierczak on Feb. 4, just 10 days before the 27-year-old opened fire in a classroom and killed five before committing suicide.
Another website run by Thompson’s company, www.thegunstore.com, also sold a Walther .22-caliber handgun to Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people in April on the Virginia Tech campus before killing himself.
“I’m still blown away by the coincidences,” Thompson said Friday. “I’m shaking. I can’t believe somebody would order from us again and do this.”
His company, TGSCOM Inc., based in Green Bay, shipped the order Monday, and records of the sale provided to The Associated Press by Thompson show Kazmierczak received the order Tuesday.
Kazmierczak carried a shotgun and three handguns into the classroom Thursday. Thompson said he had no idea whether the shooter used the holster or magazines purchased on the website.
Each magazine can hold 33 bullets, Thompson said. He said his site did not sell Kazmierczak any bullets or guns.
Kazmierczak bought two of the weapons used in the shooting – the pump-action Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun – legally on Feb. 9 in Champaign, Ill., where he was a student, authorities said.
Thompson said he checked his sales records after the name of the shooter was made public Friday. The records show $105.62 in items were shipped to an apartment in Champaign and signed for by someone other than Kazmierczak.
Thompson said he contacted the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within five minutes of realizing the latest connection Friday morning.
The Glock website is well-known among gun users on the Internet, so it is not surprising that someone looking for accessories for a Glock would find it, Thompson said. But being tied to both of the shootings is “unnerving,” he said.
“I still feel just absolutely in shock,” he said. “I feel like I was run over by a truck.”
Thompson said he has no way of knowing whether Kazmierczak found out about his website from the publicity it got after the Virginia Tech shootings, but the thought crossed his mind. Web traffic increased after that shooting, along with phone calls and threats, he said.
It was not clear whether one site linked to the other.
Eric Thompson
God bless America…
18 comments
Skip to comment form
This is so insane. Why are guns so fucking sacred. People seem okay with the feds spying and gobbling up their civil rights but as far as weapons go hey, get out your rocket launchers folks and lets arm the kids! Just can’t comprehend this love of death and violence.
no! don’t shoot me. but i’ve come around to agreeing with their interpretation of the 2nd…
think of it like this… what will we do when BushCo starts agreeing with us and suddenly wants to outlaw firearms? because that will happen, eventually. they’ll have to take away the guns. not for our safety. but for theirs.
no. i think we should partner with the NRA to work with their members to do what they can to prevent these types of things. give them the 2nd so we can focus on how they operate and what do they do to profile applicants? are their patterns, age groups, kinds of requests that trigger a deeper look? it’s harder for them to hide because now, it becomes about the 2nd and not their standards and procedures.
as i see it, NOBODY can make us safe. outlawing guns will not make us safe. just like this war on terror can’t make us safe. and since the terror is being perpetrated by our own gov’t… it brings me back to supporting the NRA’s understanding of the 2nd
i know this argument is an old one, but still::: this kid would have built a bomb or poisoned pot or something… he would have found someway to achieve this. there will always be Jack the Rippers et al…
trying to establish a way of living that decreases stress and self-loathing, stronger family bonds, building rather than demolishing… less chemicals in the food we eat, on the toys we play with, and in the air we breath. and give us a chance of developing healthier kids.
i’ve taken to reading James Madison and have come to respect this man. he isn’t touted as loudly as the other founders, but he was incredibly hip.
James Madison, “The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared,” 46 Federalist New York Packet, January 29, 1788:
I hope this company gets sued out of existence by the victims of these tragedies.
Their statement was somewhat ironic:
How about we learn from this and stop selling fucking guns online!
one, the merits and complexity of an armed populaced…..
it upside and downside……
two, the issue of the way in which arms are distribitued and to whom……..
three, the issue of the growing number of humans who turn to violence as a response to societal marginilization, hopelessness, and disempowerment…..
the fragmentation of our culture under its dehuminization of individuals……