Erik Larson - Lethal Passage - The Story of a Gun

For now, however, society at large continues to absorb all the costs: to bury its children, heal its wounded, endure its mounting grief and embarrassment—all costs so blithely charged to our account by America’s firearms industry.

In early August 1994, Sylvia and Wayne sent licensed dealers, including me, their latest catalog. It arrived well after the House and Senate had each passed its own crime bills containing a ban on the Cobray and other assault weapons, but before the two bills were finally reconciled and passed by the full Congress. On the catalog’s cover was a photograph of a private jet. A woman in white steps from the aircraft, guarded by three armed men. A headline over the photograph reads THE LEGEND CONTINUES.

ATF — Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

ATF-CR1 — ATF Case Report. Case no. 93215 85 1526P. Federal Records Center, Atlanta.

ATF-CR2 — ATF Case Report. Case no. 93215 85 1526P-Supplemental. Federal Records Center, Atlanta.

EE-ASC — Estelle Elliot vs. Atlantic Shores Christian School. Virginia Beach Circuit Court. CV 89–1022.

ET-SP — Earl Taylor, et al. vs. Snell Publishing, et al. Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta. Case D-26477.

GAO — U.S. Government Accounting Office

NES — Nicholas Elliot. Statement to police, December 16, 1988. Police case no. 88–222747. Page numbers refer to locations in court documents or in transcripts of testimony commissioned by author.

PA-JH — Pa. vs. Jean-Claude Pierre Hill. Superior Court, Philadelphia. No. 4178, Philadelphia, 1992. Court transcript.

US-AF — U.S. vs. Amir Faraz. U.S. District Court, Norfolk. CR 91–154-N.

US-CW — U.S. vs. Curtis Williams. U.S. District Court, Norfolk. CR-88–145-N. March 1, 1989.

US-DA — U.S. vs. Dean Archer. U.S. District Court, Norfolk. CR 91–4-N.

US-PEG — U.S. vs. Pablo Escobar-Gaviria, et al. U.S. District Court, Jacksonville, Florida 89–29-CR-J-16. Indictment, February 24, 1989, 12, 13, 14.

U.S.-SWD — U.S. vs. SWD Inc. and RPB Industries Inc. U.S. District Court, Atlanta. CR-86–22A. Federal Records Center, Atlanta.

VA-NE — Virginia vs. Nicholas Elliot. Circuit Court, Virginia Beach, Virginia. CR89–1681. Page numbers refer to locations in court documents or in transcripts of testimony commissioned by author.

WF-SE — William Farley vs. SNUG Enterprises (t/a Guns Unlimited). Circuit Court, Virginia Beach, Virginia, CL 89–2047. Page numbers refer to locations in transcripts commissioned by author. Testimony with no page citation means I culled the testimony from a videotape of the trial made by Court TV in New York.

1 On a bitter, cold… Norfolk Virginian-Pilot , March 1, 1989, A1.

2 A single homicide… Here I refer to Patrick Purdy’s January 17, 1989, assault on a school in Stockton, California, which killed five children, and James Oliver Huberty’s attack on a McDonald’s restaurant, which left twenty-one people dead.

3 I acquired… License, form 8. ATF.

4 I discovered… “Putting Guns Back Into Criminals’ Hands.” Violence Policy Center, 1992.

5 I learned too… “Accidental Shootings: Many Deaths and Injuries Caused by Firearms Could Be Prevented,” GAO, March 1991; “Compilation of Statutes Administered by CPSC.” U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, April 1992.

6 One evening… Georgia Sport Shooting Association, American Legion Hall, Smyrna, Georgia, November 21, 1992.

1 Virginia Beach alone… Printout of Virginia and Maryland Federal Firearms Licensees. ATF, May 12, 1992.

2 The Atlantic Shores Baptist… George Sweet, interview.

3 The church school… Richmond Times Dispatch , December 18, 1988, 1.

4 As of December 16… Norfolk Virginian-Pilot , correction, April 21, 1989.

5 “As far as I know…” George Sweet, interview.

6 He had dyslexia… Complaint. EE-ASC.

7 A Virginia Beach psychiatrist… Judge’s notes. VA-NE.

8 Another psychiatrist… Sentencing hearing. VA-NE, December 12, 1989, 18.

9 He told Det. Donald Adams… NES, 8.

10 “Like fire…” George Sweet, interview.

11 Billy would call… (Billy Cutter), testimony. VA-NE, February 28, 1989, 105, 107, 114.

12 At six foot one… Ibid., 106.

13 “There was some slapping…” Duncan Wallace, testimony. VA-NE, December 12, 1989, 16.

14 Dr. Wallace found… Ibid., 12.

15 As Nicholas left… (Billy Cutter). VA-NE, 112.

16 “I can’t take…” NES, 44–45.

17 At lunch… William Farley, interview.

18 His locker… Det. Donald Adams, interview.

19 One told… Norfolk Ledger-Star , December 18, 1988, 1.

20 Even the guns… NES, 42.

21 His mother worried… NES, 43–44.

22 When she arrived… NES, 2.

23 His mother, during… Estelle Elliot, sentencing hearing. VA-NE, 6.

24 In California… Duncan Wallace. Ibid., 17.

25 On arriving… Estelle Elliot. Ibid., 10, 11.

26 “The public schools…” Ibid., 7.

27 “She said something…” NES, 20.

28 “I’ve heard…” NES, 21.

29 When Adams asked… NES, 63.

30 This was clearly evident… Karen Farley, videotape.

31 The morning of December 16… William Farley, interview.

32 She had begun… Ibid.

33 “Do you think…” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot , December 10, 1988, D1.

1 “I know several…” Anthony Cobb, letter to author, February 2, 1993.

2 Over the last… The statistics in this paragraph may be found in: American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, AAP NEWS (January 1992): 22; Garen Wintemute, “Firearms as a Cause of Death in the United States, 1920–1982,” The Journal of Trauma 27:5 (May 1987): 532; Los Angeles Times , May 17, 1992, 1; Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report (July 1990).

3 A relatively new… Gary J. Ordog, et al., “Gunshot Wounds in Children Under 10 Years of Age,” American Journal of Diseases of Children 142 (June 1988): 618–22.

4 No one knows… American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, 20.

5 The story is less… Michael Pertschuk, interview.

6 Over the most… “Civilian Firearms: Domestic Production, Importation, Exportation and Availability for Sale, 1899–1989,” ATF.

7 As of 1989… Ibid.

8 One study of… American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, 20.

9 A July 1993 poll… Louis Harris, “A Survey of Experiences, Perceptions, and Apprehensions About Guns Among Young People in America,” LH Research Inc. (July 1993): 12, 13.10 The Harris poll… Ibid., 12.

11 A University of North Carolina… Laura S. Sadowski, “Firearm Ownership Among Nonurban Adolescents,” American Journal of Diseases of Children 143 (December 1989): 1412.

12 From 1965 to 1990… “Crime in the United States,” FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 279.

13 Anyone inclined… Baltimore Sun , July 20, 1993, 1.

14 In 1985 stray… New York Times , December 31, 1990, A25.

15 In 1987, America’s… Lois A. Fingerhut, “International and Interstate Comparisons of Homicide Among Young Males,” JAMA 263:24 (June 27, 1990): 3292–93.

16 A landmark study… Arthur L. Kellermann and Donald T. Reay, “Protection or Peril?” New England Journal of Medicine 314:24 (June 12, 1986): 1557–60.

17 A Pittsburgh… David A. Brent, et al., “The Presence and Accessibility of Firearms in the Homes of Adolescent Suicides,” JAMA 266:21 (December 4, 1991): 2989–95.