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Gun dealer finds ties to Illinois, Virginia assaults

The online gun dealer who sold a weapon to the Virginia Tech shooter said it was an unnerving coincidence that he also sold handgun accessories to the man who killed five students at Northern Illinois University.

Eric Thompson said his Web site, www.topglock.com, sold two empty 9 mm Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Steven Kazmierczak on Feb. 4, just 10 days before the 27-year-old opened fire in a classroom and killed five before committing suicide.

Another Web site run by Thompson's company, www.thegunstore.com, also sold a Walther .22-caliber handgun to Seung-hui Cho, who killed 32 people in April on the Virginia Tech campus before killing himself.

"I'm still blown away by the coincidences," Thompson said on Friday. "I'm shaking. I can't believe somebody would order from us again and do this."

His company, TGSCOM, based in Green Bay, shipped the order on Monday, and records of the sale show Kazmierczak received the order on Tuesday.

Kazmierczak carried a shotgun and three handguns into the classroom on Thursday. Thompson said he had no idea whether the shooter used the holster or magazines purchased on the Web site.

Each magazine can hold 33 bullets, Thompson said. He said his site did not sell Kazmierczak any bullets or guns.

Kazmierczak bought two of the weapons used in the shooting -- the pump-action Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun -- legally on Feb. 9 in Champaign, Illinois, where he was a student, authorities said.

Thompson said he checked his sales records after the name of the shooter was made public on Friday. Those records show US$105.62 in items were shipped to an apartment in Champaign and signed for by someone other than Kazmierczak.

Thompson said he contacted the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within five minutes of realizing the latest connection on Friday morning.

The Glock Web site is well-known among gun users on the Internet, so it is not surprising that someone looking for accessories for a Glock would find it, Thompson said. But being tied to both of the shootings is "unnerving," he said.

"I still feel just absolutely in shock," he said. "I feel like I was run over by a truck."

Thompson said he has no way of knowing whether Kazmierczak found out about his Web site from the publicity it got after the Virginia Tech shootings, but the thought crossed his mind. Web traffic increased after that shooting, along with phone calls and threats, he said.

Meanwhile, Northern Illinois University officials say classes would resume next Monday, to give the faculty and students time to deal with "serious wounds of body and spirit."

A memorial service for the students has been scheduled for Sunday.

Additional reporting by NY Times
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