Aurora shooting: Gunman who shot five dead at warehouse was employee who had just been fired

Police say several victims were in meeting with shooter where he was fired from company

A man who shot five people dead and left six wounded began his shooting rampage the moment he was fired from his job at a factory in Chicago on Friday.

Gary Martin, 45, reportedly brought the loaded weapon into the meeting at Henry Pratt Company, opening fire immediately after he was told of the decision, police said.

“During this meeting he was terminated and my understanding from the witnesses is that he opened fire right after the termination,” Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said in a statement. “We believe that several people who were involved in that meeting are the ones who are deceased.”

Martin was killed following a shootout with the police.

His state gun license permit had revoked in 2014, the police chief said. But Martin never gave up the .40-calibre Smith & Wesson handgun he used in the attack.

An initial background check failed to detect a conviction that should have stopped him from being able to purchase the gun he used in the killing spree.

Months later, a second background check revealed an aggravated assault conviction in Mississippi in 1995 in which he had stabbed his ex-girlfriend. But it only prompted a letter stating his gun permit had been revoked and ordering him to turn over his firearm to police – raising questions about the state’s enforcement to ensure those who lose their permits also turn over their weapons.

Investigators are still trying to determine exactly what measures law enforcement agencies took after that letter was sent, Ms Ziman said.

Illinois lawmakers who support stricter gun control measures said he was able to keep the weapon because of a flaw in the 1968 law that requires residents to get a Firearm Owner’s Identification card, or FOID card, to purchase firearms or ammunition. They must pass a background check, but the law does not mandate that police ensure weapons have been removed if a red flag is raised later.

Legislation was introduced in 2016 to require police go to the homes of gun owners who have their FOID cards revoked and search for the weapons, but it failed over concerns it would overtax police departments, said Democratic lawmaker Kathleen Willis. She wants to see a similar measure introduced again.

“Let’s use some common sense. If you have someone with a felony, obviously they are not the best law-abiding citizens who are going to follow through when they get the letter and go, ‘oh yeah, here’s my gun, no problem,’” Ms Willis said. “We have to have oversight. That’s the biggest flaw in the whole system. We’re asking people who already have done something wrong, to do something right.”

Last year, Illinois joined other states like California in passing a law that allows family members to petition to have a gun removed from a home and a person’s permit revoked if they believe they might use it to harm themselves or others.

A vigil for the victims, including a university student on his first day as an intern and a longtime plant manager, was held on Sunday outside the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, about 40 miles west of Chicago. More than 1,500 people braved snow and freezing drizzle to attend.

Additional reporting by AP