Editor’s note, August 22, 2019: The report that this story was based on was wrong, and the Associated Press corrected its story a week after publication. The weapon in question was not used in the Paris attacks and, in fact, was in the possession of authorities in Mexico, the AP said in its correction.
A gun used in the Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 people has been reported linked to a company that operates in Vermont.
The Associated Press reported Friday that an M92 semiautomatic pistol fired in the attacks had been exported from Serbia to Century International Arms, based in Delray Beach, Fla. That company has long maintained a large facility in Georgia, Vt. The AP did not report that the weapon specifically came from Vermont, and said how it got back to Europe was not known.
Vermont Public Radio reported that Brady Toensing, a lawyer in Vermont speaking for Century International Arms, said in an emailed statement Friday that the company is cooperating with authorities.
“We have received an unconfirmed report that a pistol that was legally imported into the United States and legally sold to a licensed, domestic firearms dealer more than two years ago may have been recovered from the scene of the Paris shootings,” Toensing said, according to VPR. “We are unable to confirm that report, but are assisting authorities with their investigation into this matter.”
As Seven Days has previously reported, Century International Arms has maintained a low-profile presence in Vermont for decades. The company sells a number of assault rifles that news investigations over the years have linked to Mexican drug lords, the Nicaraguan Contras and other controversial organizations.
In 2013, Seven Days reported:
But Century’s global reach extends well beyond Vermont. Its online catalogue features a dizzying array of pistols, rifles and shooting accessories, offered for sale to law enforcement and the public. They include the M16, M60, RPK and numerous variants of the iconic Russian Kalashnikov. Century’s C93 semiautomatic rifle — featured on Ted Nugent’s July 2011 “Spirit of the Wild” TV show on the Outdoor Channel — comes equipped with two 40-round magazines and a bayonet “while supplies last,” the catalog reads.
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Curious: were the semiconductor chips in each if their cell phones from the IBM/Global Foundries plant in Essex?
If this isn’t biased sensationalism grasping at straws for attention, I don’t know what is.
What shoes were the terrorists wearing? Should we start endlessly persecuting every other person in the country that also wears that same brand of shoes?
This article is infantile at best. I won’t even say what it is at worst.
This article is such a stretch that just saying that it insults our intelligence doesn’t go far enough. Is this where attempts at gun owner control is at these days?
Freedom to Think above has made me wonder about something: it is a fact that the terrorists in France…all over the world in fact, including here in The United States…all wear shoes. Imagine if we ban shoes, then any terrorist will think twice about making his or her way to the gun-free zone. Especially if it’s snowing.
Can you imagine how many lives can be saved if no one is allowed to wear shoes? Or at least require everyone to register the shoes they purchase so that law enforcement has a way to know whose shoe tracks they’re following.
Yeah. It’s definitely time we all have common sense laws restricting who is allowed to purchase and wear shoes. Especially those shoes with scary looking features, like running shoes. Don’t you think that Nike or Reebok should be held responsible for the terrorist’s actions? Heck, not just terrorists but anyone who has ever committed a robbery.
Shoes. It’s all about the shoes.
As a matter of fact, I’m sure that if any of the biased media really did any kind of in-depth research, they would find that persons on a terrorist no-fly list ALL wear shoes. Every day!
And we all know that shoes have a mysterious reefer madness effect that somehow makes the individual wearing them choose their evil actions.
Yup…it’s the shoes, folks. Not…one…more!