By Chris Kain

A new lawsuit seeks to hold three federally licensed gun stores in Montgomery County liable for enabling illegal gun trafficking into the District, with DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb blasting the dealers for choosing “profits over safety.”

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Everytown Law joined DC in the case, which was announced this morning at a press conference outside the federal courthouse on Constitution Avenue NW. Filed in the Montgomery County Circuit Court, the lawsuit alleges that the dealers illegally sold dozens of firearms to a straw purchaser, with many of the weapons ending up in the District.

“The level of gun violence in the District, and the devastating impact it has on victims, families, and our community as a whole, is unacceptable,” Schwalb said in a press release. “This is a regional problem that requires a regional solution, as far too often, guns purchased in Maryland and Virginia are trafficked across our borders and end up at crime scenes in DC. Today we are holding these firearms dealers — businesses that chose profits over safety — accountable for their clear negligence, blatant disregard for the law, and pain they have inflicted across the District and DMV.”

— ‘DC’s streets are flooded with illegal firearms. Officials are suing three gun shops they say are a big part of the problem.’ CNN’s Gabe Cohen: “In one case, the three stores located in Montgomery County — Engage Armament, United Gun Shop and Atlantic Guns — sold 34 guns in a six-month period to a Maryland resident named Demetrius Minor who then transferred the firearms to a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, according to the lawsuit. Minor was convicted for the purchases, the lawsuit says.

“Nine of those guns have been recovered at crime scenes in the DC area. The rest, officials say, are most likely still on the street.” [CNN]

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