The Department of Justice finally took action Friday, charging Virginia resident Kenya Chapman with illegally arming the gunman who terrorized Old Dominion University students this week, leaving one innocent American dead and families shattered.
Chapman sold a stolen Glock pistol to shooter Mohamed Bailor Jalloh for a measly $100 – a weapon Chapman had stolen from a vehicle in Newport News a full year ago, according to federal prosecutors. Think about that, folks: this criminal had a stolen firearm for an entire year before putting it in the hands of a killer.
This tragic case exposes everything wrong with our broken system. While law-abiding Americans face endless bureaucratic hurdles to exercise their Second Amendment rights, criminals like Chapman steal guns and sell them on the streets with impunity – until innocent people die.
Another Failure of the Justice System
How many red flags were ignored? How many opportunities did authorities have to get this stolen weapon off the streets before it ended up in a killer's hands? These are the questions grieving families deserve answers to.
The victim's family now faces a lifetime of pain because our system failed to stop known criminals from trafficking stolen firearms. Meanwhile, Democrats want to punish law-abiding gun owners instead of cracking down on the actual criminals responsible for gun violence.
This isn't about the Second Amendment – it's about enforcing existing laws against criminals who prey on innocent Americans. Chapman's alleged actions represent exactly the kind of criminal behavior that should face the full force of federal prosecution.
"Every stolen firearm represents a potential tragedy waiting to happen. When criminals traffic weapons to killers, they have blood on their hands too."
President Trump's DOJ appears ready to prosecute gun crimes seriously, unlike the previous administration's revolving-door justice system. But one arrest can't bring back the life lost at ODU or comfort the families destroyed by this senseless violence.
How many more innocent Americans will die before we get serious about keeping illegal firearms away from dangerous criminals?