BALTIMORE — The Maryland Attorney General’s Office joined a lawsuit against three Maryland gun shops that sold dozens of firearms to a man who trafficked them in and around Washington, D.C.
Several of the guns were recovered at crime scenes or with suspects wanted on warrants for violent crimes, attorney generals said at a press conference on Tuesday.
This lengthy lawsuit by the Maryland and D.C. attorneys general, as well as Everytown Law, accuses Engage Armament, LLC, United Gun Shop and Atlantic Guns, Inc. of ignoring clear signs of illegal gun sales. The lawsuit claims the purchases happened in Montgomery County, but led to gun violence across the area.
“The goal is to disrupt and discontinue this for these defendants, and to send a signal to all gun store owners in the DMV that if this is what you do, this is what we do,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said.
What is straw selling?
The three gun shops allegedly participated in what’s known as straw selling, which is when a shop sells a firearm to a customer who is buying it for another person, who is likely not allowed to own a gun.