Was the UNC shooter allowed to own a gun?
In late August, 34-year-old doctoral student Tailei Qi shot and killed Professor Zijie Yan on the campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC). While a motive behind the shooting has not been made public, Qi complained on social media about perceived mistreatment during his time on campus.
Qi allegedly used a 9mm handgun to murder Yan. However, between the time of the shooting, and Qi’s apprehension on the streets of Chapel Hill, Qi is believed to have disposed of the murder weapon. As of the last time I checked the news reports, police have still not found the gun. But how did Qi get the gun in the first place?
Qi is a Chinese national, who is here on a student visa. By federal law, that precludes him from legally owning a firearm in the United States, except under extenuating circumstances. According to a local sheriff’s department, Qi had not applied for a handgun permit, nor a conceal and carry permit.
However, no matter how posh the area around UNC seems to be, this is still North Carolina, a very gun-friendly state. Like most other gun havens, you can still buy a gun from a gun show, a living room seller, or just about anyone who owns a gun, without having to submit to a background check. Hell, he could have even gone the ghost gun route for all we know. Yet another state where guns have more rights than its average citizens.
North Carolina is no stranger to school shootings, either. Two of the more infamous ones I can think of from the top of my head are Orange High School and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
In other news, Qi’s defense attorneys have claimed Qi is mentally unfit to stand trial. However, Qi, himself, keeps trying to fire his attorneys. I imagine he’s taking offense to being called mentally unfit. So far, his request has been denied by the court.
There was also a lockdown last month on the UNC campus after a report of an armed person, but I’ll be tackling that in a future post.
(Sources)
- UNC murder suspect requests new attorneys, competency motion filed
- Could the UNC shooting suspect legally possess a gun? Here’s what we know so far.
- Law enforcement continues search for weapon in UNC campus shooting
- Suspect in University of North Carolina shooting is not competent for trial, his attorneys say
